CHAPTER 28: THE WHISPER BEYOND BALANCE
Peace did not shatter, it thinned. It lingered across the world like a fragile layer stretched too far, too long, until the smallest pressure began to bend it. The city of Chicago continued to rebuild, its broken skyline slowly rising again, its streets filling with life that had once been buried under fear and shadow. People moved forward, unaware of the quiet miracle holding their world together. Rowan’s balance still flowed through everything, steady, unseen, absolute. It held the air in place, softened the edges of chaos, and ensured that no darkness could rise again the way it once had. But something had begun to change. Not enough to be seen. Not enough to be named. Only enough to be felt. A faint disruption, like a ripple across still water,
