---
He did not speak for one breath. Then he barked words so he would not hear the echo of that roar inside his own head.
"Now," he said. "One hundred. The best. Gather on me."
His captains ran and sent runners. Straps tightened. Plates clicked. Men who could still stand pulled helms on. The chosen gathered into two ranks. They looked like a clean knife in a dirty kitchen.
Silvershadow lay in the shade behind a cart spoke. The roar moved over him and through him like wind through a crack in a wall. He let it move. He did not hold it. He did not argue with it. He stayed the shape that light could not catch. He knew the aura belonged to his master. He knew things were going to get ugly soon.
Kai dropped over the last crest and ran straight into the first ring of tents. He did not stop. The black crown turned slowly over his head like a storm wheel. Eyes followed it even when men did not want to look up.
