The war drums sounded just before dawn.
Low, hollow booms rolled through the halls, enough to wake even the heaviest sleeper.
Rhea jerked upright from the bed, her pulse leaping into her throat. She had heard that sound once before since arriving here… when a border patrol had been ambushed by rogues. But this was louder.
Her door flew open. A guard filled the frame, face pale.
“Stay in your chambers, lady. No one is to leave until the Alpha commands.”
Rhea’s lips parted, but the door shut before she could speak. The sound of boots filled the corridor.
Her heart hammered. She pressed her palms to her ears, trying to block the drums, but their echo sank into her bones. Something terrible had happened.
She knew it, the way she had known the chains in her dreams weren’t only chains.
