The horn continued its urgent call as Kael and Aria rushed toward the palace's outer walls, guards scrambling into formation along the battlements above.
"Report," Kael demanded as he reached the gatehouse, and a watchman leaned over the stone parapet, squinting into the darkening horizon.
"Riders approaching from the north, my King," the watchman called down. "Perhaps twenty strong, carrying banners we do not recognize."
Kael climbed the narrow stairs to the top of the wall himself, Aria close behind him despite the guards' protests, and together they watched the distant torchlight of approaching riders cutting through the evening gloom.
"Those are not Lycan Kingdom colors," Kael murmured, studying the banners as they drew closer.
"Dark red, crossed with silver. I do not recognize th
