Ella's POV
Something was wrong with the wind.
I stood at the edge of the old boundary line, a place thick with moss and memory, and felt the way the air shifted around us. Quiet. Too quiet. No birdsong, no rustling leaves. Even the insects had vanished.
Behind me, the patrol group stood alert. Remo in his human form for now, arms crossed, eyes narrowed as he surveyed the clearing. Christian stood beside him with his usual mockery dancing in his gaze, though I could tell he felt it too.
Maddox said nothing, as always. His silence was a scream all its own.
The forest had gone still, like it was holding its breath.
Then the light bent—and the sky cracked.
An explosion of sound tore through the silence as the ground split open in jagged lines. A pulse of dark energy rippled outward, sla
