POV: KAEL
I'd addressed armies before. Hundreds of times over eight centuries. Victory speeches, battle preparations, declarations of war and peace. I'd spoken to thousands without hesitation, always knowing exactly what to say.
But standing here now, still in my transformed state with Elara beside me—both of us visibly Reborn, living proof of something that shouldn't exist—I had no idea where to begin.
The combined armies stretched before us. Northern dragons and Southern soldiers, mixed together not by choice but by sheer exhaustion and trauma. They stood on blood-soaked ground, surrounded by evidence of near-apocalypse, waiting for someone to tell them what the hell any of this meant.
Through the Merge, I felt Elara's anxiety mirroring my own. But also her determination. Her absolute certainty that we had to try, even if we failed.
I took a breath and stepped forward.
