The castle gates groaned open like the throat of something ancient and waking.
Rose stepped through them first, flanked by the Dragon Lord on her left and Alex—her phoenix prince—on her right. The weight of their return should have felt like homecoming, but the air hung heavy with the scent of iron and burnt salt. It clung to her nostrils, acrid and wrong.
They weren’t greeted.
No guards. No staff. No servants with trembling hands and tight smiles. Just silence.
Too much silence.
A flash of movement at her periphery—Marcus, already tensed, had noticed it too. His claws flexed just beneath the surface of his skin, and the gold in his eyes shimmered, faint and watchful.
“Where is everyone?” Rose whispered, her voice a needle in the void.
Alex stepped ahead, wings half-flared, not summ
