A chill wind swept over the eastern ridge, stirring the tall grasses and bending the treetops in restless waves. The horizon, once golden with the early blush of morning, had dulled to a steel-gray haze. Ominous clouds rolled in without a sound, their edges dark as ink, swallowing sunlight. It was as though the sky itself held its breath.
In the heart of the Alpha House, Ember stood at the tall window of the war room, one hand splayed across her abdomen. The warmth of the quadruplets hummed beneath her palm like a symphony of energy. But outside, the land shifted uneasily. She felt it. So did the Moon Goddess.
Axel entered silently, his broad shoulders tense beneath a thick leather tunic. “The scouts returned,” he said. “There’s movement near the abandoned shrine. And we found another an
