The peace lasted 36 hours.
Rogue scouts don’t wait. They test. They probe. They hit where you’re weakest and run before the real fight starts.
They hit at 3:17 AM.
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*The Walls – 3:17 AM*
Kade was awake first.
He’d been sleeping in 2-hour bursts since the ward line went up. Old habits didn’t die. The faint snap of a ward breaking on the northeast corner had him on his feet before he was fully conscious.
“Ryn,” he said, voice low.
She was already moving, crossbow in hand. She’d been sleeping in the guard room two doors down. After last night, she’d stopped pretending she wasn’t staying close.
“Twelve contacts,” she said, eyes on the treeline. “Same group. They’re testing the new anchors.”
Kade drew his sword. “Wake the palace. Quietly. I don’t want Aria holding a ward while ha
