GUARDING DRAEGO BORDER

BORIS POV

We left Draego town at dusk, the sky darkening as if to match the heaviness settling over us. General Marcus led us, his armor gleaming dully in the fading light. Iris and General Cecile had felt it first—the rumbling deep within the mountain. There was something wrong, something stirring in the heart of the earth that could not be ignored. We had no choice but to move, though uncertainty gnawed at me. Was this the same evil we had thought destroyed at Bran Fortress?

I glanced at General Marcus as we maneuvered our small army through the dense forest. He had not said much since we had set out, his face set in a grim line. But his unease was palpable. I knew him well enough to understand that he felt it too—something dark still lingered.

"The evil at Bran Fortress... we didn't destroy it, did we?" I finally broke the silence, keeping my voice low as we trudged beneath the trees.