Caelan POV:
The report comes just after dusk, I’m standing on the upper balcony when I feel it first. The courtyard below remains lively, my wolves are gathering for the evening meal, their voices carrying easily through the warm air, but beneath that normal rhythm something shifts. Conversations falter for a moment before continuing, instincts brushing against one another as awareness spreads without anyone speaking a word.
Vaelor lifts his head inside me, alert and attentive. Kieran appears a few moments later, climbing the steps with the steady patience of someone who understands that haste often reveals more than calm ever will. His posture is relaxed enough that no one below would think anything unusual was happening by looking at him, but the tension held in the line of his shoulde
