Forest:
The scent of smoke still clung in the air.
I stood near the outer gate, watching patrols rotate in pairs along the perimeter. The night had been long. Longer than it should have been. Rogues had pushed deeper than ever—three groups striking nearly at once, coordinated. Unnatural.
We held them back, but barely.
Too many injuries. Too many bloodstained beds in the infirmary.
And now… silence.
The kind that hummed with warning.
I ran a hand through my hair, jaw tight. I hadn’t slept. Not really. Not since the Queen arrived. Her presence alone sent the pack into a strange stasis—an odd mixture of awe and suspicion. She was powerful, no question. But she wasn’t theirs. And neither was Hattie.
Or the child.
Goddess, the child.
I turned from the gate, heading toward the central
