Sera woke with a gasp.
Not from a nightmare. From a presence.
It was the middle of the night. The pack was silent around her — Dax was on the other side of the door, she could feel him through the Bond, a steady warm pulse that never truly slept. Lumi was curled in her bed, breathing soft and even. Elara was in the next room, her power quiet, resting.
And underneath it all — underneath the pack, underneath the wards, underneath the earth itself — something was rising.
Sera dressed quickly. Silently. She left a note on the pillow for Dax — Gone to check the perimeter. Back soon. He'd be angry when he woke. He always was when she slipped out without him.
But this wasn't something she could wait on.
The presence led her to the old ruins.
Not the Shadow Fang ruins where Magnus had falle
