Chapter 7 · Frontier Lord - Chapter 7: Wall Up Before Dark

Ava stood in the gap between the two half-finished walls and knew she had maybe four hours before dark.

Four hours to get strangers who'd arrived hungry and scared to trust each other enough to lift the same beam. Four hours to turn dirt and splinters into something that could keep the wind out. The boundary stone incident yesterday had left everyone jumpy. People kept glancing at her hands like they expected blood to start dripping again.

She wiped her palms on her trousers. The cuts had closed overnight—too fast, honestly—but the skin was still tight and shiny. Her builder's bloodline humming underneath like a second pulse.

"We doing this or what?" Rain stood to her left, arms crossed. He'd shown up at dawn without being asked, same torn jacket, same unreadable expression. His daughter Lily was somewhere behind him, playing with wood scraps near Sera.

Ava turned to face the small crowd. Fifteen people, maybe. The original three families, plus the new arrivals who'd trickled in over the last two days after word got out that Windstone Hollow was taking people in. A couple of them looked strong enough to swing a hammer.