Were her men at the gate holding their ground, or had something gone terribly wrong?
When they arrived at the city gate, Sarika's heart lifted at the sight of her soldiers patrolling the wall.
They appeared calm and organized, contrary to the chaos she had expected.
Sarika was delighted and felt relief to see they had succeeded in taking control of the city defense.
She approached them, "Soldiers, why didn't you report to me when you had succeeded?"
But as she moved closer, something stopped her in her tracks. An uneasy feeling gnawed at the edges of her mind.
She felt something was wrong.
Her soldiers were too calm, too composed. All of this situation felt staged as if they were putting on a show.
Sarika's instincts screamed at her to be cautious. She scanned the area, checking for any abnormality.
Suddenly, it hit her. "Impostors," she whispered under her breath.