Chapter Twenty-Four
The attack came at the worst possible moment.
That was not chance.
Lyra felt it as she crossed the inner courtyard, the bond tightening sharply, a cold snap that traveled down her spine and settled in her chest. The land did not cry out. It withdrew. As if bracing.
She stopped.
Cain, a step ahead, turned immediately. “What is it?”
Elias, behind her, had already gone still. “We’ve been breached.”
The horn sounded a second later.
Not the alarm for open assault.
The signal for internal compromise.
Lyra didn’t swear. She didn’t shout. She turned on her heel and moved.
The war chamber erupted into controlled chaos—runners pouring in, voices overlapping, maps already shifting. Lyra stepped into the center and raised her hand.
Silence snapped into place.
“Report,”
