The war crept in quietly.
No armies marched. No blood flooded battlefields. Just scouts slipping through the shadows. Spies whispering across borders at night. Wolves vanished from the forests around Silver Crest — never seen again.
Three days passed since Red Fang threatened them. Tension climbed higher every hour. Nobody spoke, not even neighbors. But that silence felt all wrong. There was a chill to it, like the calm before predators pounce.
Silver Crest didn’t look the same anymore. Every entrance had guards. Patrols doubled. Warriors traded beds for armor — nobody risking rest. The woods outside stank of cold rain and fear. Nobody laughed. Nobody dropped their guard. Everyone understood: war had already arrived.
Out by the western grounds, Liana watched Silver Crest warriors spar
