23. Henry

Restless on the eve of his wedding, Henry walks the fort’s lowest level, haunted by the night the wall nearly fell. He admits to his father that Harlow suffers severe head pain the Lunameade well can’t mend and bears an unusual, brand-like scar, likely inflicted by family. He also confesses he revealed the Mountain Well and his scars to Harlow, prompting his father’s reminder to keep the full truth secret until after marriage.

Their talk of vengeance and strategy is cut short by alarm bells: a Drained breach and a hunter down. Henry and his father rush to the mended wall section, coat blades with well water, and join Pelan Langley and Kayleen Reyas in combat. Henry kills one Drained, his father throws another over the wall, and the hunters finish the rest.

They find veteran Maxime Palemore gravely clawed but not bitten. A healer arrives, stabilizes him, and Kayleen escorts him to the clinic while a reserve replaces him. The incident marks the fourth hunter down in two weeks, spotlighting thinning ranks after the original fall and the burden on aging patrols.

In the quiet aftermath, Henry’s father stresses the urgency of the Carrenwells sending guards per the marriage contract to shore the wall, yet keeps broader plans compartmentalized to protect their aims and Henry’s leverage with Harlow. He warns that once the marital blessing binds, Henry’s judgment may shift, and that revenge has remade him since Holly’s death. Henry recognizes the truth but cannot set it down as the threat persists.