The first attack came before nightfall.
Lyra felt it before anyone spoke a word. The bond tightened suddenly, sharp and alert, like a pulled wire snapping her attention outward. She stiffened mid-step as Tyler led her across the eastern walkway, stone walls rising on one side and the forest stretching dark and restless on the other.
Something was wrong.
Tyler felt it too. His stride slowed, his shoulders tightening almost imperceptibly. He lifted a hand.
The patrol stopped instantly.
“Report,” he said.
A scout broke from the shadows ahead, breath fast, eyes bright with urgency. “Movement near the tree line. Not wolves.”
Lyra’s pulse spiked. “Ronan.”
Tyler’s gaze flicked to her. “Stay behind me.”
“That wasn’t the arrangement.”
“This isn’t a negotiation.”
He stepped forward, power
