The first crack doesn’t happen in the wards.
It happens in the pack.
Three nights after Kade’s divine markers flare, a Blackthorn warrior fails to report for rotation.
At first, no one panics.
Wolves miss check-ins occasionally. Hunting runs long. Patrol routes detour.
But then a second warrior misses.
Then a third.
Delta Kyle calls emergency assembly.
I’m in the courtyard when the call goes out.
Asher is mid-laugh, chasing another child around the fountain.
The tone in Kyle’s voice cuts through everything.
“Full roll call. Now.”
Something in my chest tightens.
This isn’t ritual.
This isn’t resonance.
This is infiltration.
Twenty minutes later, the command room is silent.
Three warriors missing.
All from different shifts.
All from different families.
All from the same s
