The Keep was never truly silent.
Even in the deepest hours of night, there was always the murmur of patrols along the walls, the shuffle of servants in the halls, the distant howl of wolves beyond the gates.
But tonight, the night before the blood moon, the noise had thinned to almost nothing. The air was thick, waiting.
Elinora stood at the window of her tower chamber, looking out over the frozen river. The moon hung low and pale, its edges already tinged with a faint crimson haze.
Her wolf paced inside her, restless and uneasy.
Behind her, the door opened. She didn’t have to turn to know it was Riven — she could feel the bond hum faintly, a soft tug at the edges of her mind.
“You’re not sleeping,” he said.
She kept her eyes on the river. “Neither are you.”
His footsteps crossed t
