Chapter 13: Howl of the Forgotten

Sand stung Leia’s eyes.

She stumbled through Wasteland dunes, half-wolf, half-memory. Her limbs ached. Her breath steamed with rage. She didn’t know how long she’d been running. Hours? Days?

The voice in her head whispered one word over and over:

##Betrayal.

Cassian’s signature. The bond, shattered.

His voice: I hereby annul...

Her snarl echoed through the dust.

Then—tents. Black banners. A fortress cut into red rock.

And a man waiting beneath the gate.

Scarred. Smiling.

“Welcome home,” Silas said.

---

Inside, the fortress was carved like a labyrinth—sandstone halls, flickering torches, soldiers in red-armbands bowing as Leia passed.

Silas walked beside her, voice smooth as oiled leather.

“I always wondered what my niece might grow into.”

“I’m not your niece,” Leia growled. “I’m your mistake.”

He chuckled. “You’re my masterpiece.”

She stopped. “You burned villages. Killed innocents.”