By the next morning, the atmosphere across the territory had shifted again. News from the smaller meeting hadn’t spread openly, but something about the tone of the leadership had changed, and people noticed. Conversations were quieter, more cautious, as if everyone could sense that something bigger was moving beneath the surface.
Lyra felt it the moment she stepped outside. It wasn’t obvious, but it was there, in the way people watched a little more closely, in the way conversations stopped just a second too late when she walked past.
“They know something,” she said.
Kael, walking beside her, didn’t look surprised. “They always do.”
“Not everything,” Lyra replied.
“No,” he agreed. “But enough to feel it.”
They continued toward the main grounds where a few groups had already gathered.
