The night didn't wait.
The horns sounded from the gates—long, low, shuddering—before the uneasiness in the hall could subside. Wolves froze mid-step, hackles rising.
Thorn was already moving, his growl rolling through the corridors. “Positions. Now.”
I followed, shadows twitching like live wires beneath my skin. The courtyard was illuminated by torchlight, with wolves gathering in jagged lines along the walls. Their eyes, however, flicked to me as much as to the trees beyond—not unity, not trust, just fear.
The southern gate shuddered with a heavy thud. Another. The wood groaned under the force, cracking along the surface.
A scout scrambled down from the wall, pale and trembling. “It's not shadows . Not wolves either. They stand still. Waiting,” he rasped.
Thorn vaulted the stai
