Vivienne stood on the east balcony of the estate, arms crossed, watching as the chaos gradually reordered itself.
"Well," she said, "this will make a great press release."
Thalia smirked. "You think the humans will notice?"
"Only the ones who matter."
Vivienne turned. Her eyes flicked up toward the clouds.
Somewhere, far beyond what the humans could see, something vast and waiting stirred. The claiming had not only rebalanced the bloodlines. It had sent a message to the old ones.
To the gods.
And they were listening.
The Hayes estate lay quiet beneath a silver dawn, its wards pulsing low with the weight of everything that had changed.
In the Circle of First Flame, the ground still shimmered.
The ancient glyphs had burned so brightly they’d left marks in the soil, like constellati
