The sound came first—
A rumble like ancient stone grinding against itself, followed by the low, bone-deep groan of something vast and uncoiling.
The ground shivered. Not shook—shivered, like it was afraid.
Quinn jolted upright where he sat with Rowan curled beside him. Jace was already standing, body tense, Kaelen’s presence glinting behind his eyes.
Riven stormed into the cave, his eyes wide. “It’s happening.”
No one had to ask what.
They all felt it.
The First Howl had awakened.
Outside, the sky was wrong.
The stars had faded—not behind clouds, but behind something else. A veil. A yawning grayness that swallowed color and sound and sense.
And the trees… the trees were bowing.
Not to wind. There was no wind.
They bent, creaked, and twisted like they were kneeling.
Jace stared
