Page 156 of Salt Between the Wolves

"Message from the western patrol."

The room quieted once again.

Soren unfolded the parchment, read it, and then read it a second time.

The western patrol found traces of a lone rider matching her route. The trail continues west.

His pulse quickened instantly.

For the first time in days, something resembling hope pierced through the exhaustion. This was not a rumor, a guess, or a frightened villager remembering the wrong traveler. It was a real sighting and a real trail—old, but real.

Soren rose so quickly that several people looked up in surprise.

"Prepare riders."

The order came immediately.

"My lord—"

"Prepare riders."

No one argued this time.

The room erupted into motion as chairs scraped against stone and orders began moving through the chamber. The hunt finally had a direction again, and for the first time in weeks, Soren felt as though he could see the path beneath his feet.

West.

The thought settled heavily in his mind as he focused entirely on that single word.

He didn't notice Edrik watching him, the brief exchange of glances between the older warriors, or the concern lingering behind their expressions.

While everyone else in the room was thinking about Frostvein, diplomacy, and the dead envoy lying below the fortress, Soren was already gone in his thoughts, following a trail that had begun two weeks ago and was growing colder with every passing day.

Chapter 20: Small Choices

Eira

In the third morning, Eira woke to the sound of gulls.

For several moments she lay motionless beneath the blankets, staring at the canvas above her and wondering whether she had imagined it.

Then the cry came again, sharp and distant yet unmistakable.

Gulls.

A slow smile touched her lips before she could stop it.

She had never truly heard them before. She knew them only from stories, descriptions in books, and the occasional tale told by traveling merchants, but never with her own ears and never like this.

The sound seemed strangely wild, unlike the mountains, unlike wolves, and unlike anything she had known.

Eira pushed aside the blanket and stepped from the tent.

The morning air greeted her immediately with a chill that carried the scent of salt and something vibrant she could not quite name.

She stopped and looked around.

The world had changed.