Chapter Thirty-One
It began with the ground splitting.
Not dramatically.
Not with thunder.
With precision.
At dawn, the eastern ridge trembled once — sharp and controlled. A fracture line cut across the valley floor like a surgical incision. No collapse. No landslide.
Just a seam.
Elias saw it first from the watchtower.
“That’s not natural,” he said quietly.
Cain was already moving before he finished speaking.
Lyra felt it before she saw it.
The Shadow was not pressing from outside.
It was threading through something below.
They gathered at the fracture within minutes.
The crack pulsed faintly.
Like a heartbeat.
And from its depths—
Came a whisper.
Not loud.
Not monstrous.
Clear.
“Balance requires exchange.”
The air shifted.
Wolves along the perimeter staggered simul
