The hunt did not begin with horns.
It began with silence.
Anna felt it first—not sound, but absence. The city’s usual nocturnal rhythm had vanished. No laughter from taverns. No carts rattling over stone. No guards muttering idle complaints.
Veyl was holding its breath.
She stood at the narrow window of the tower chamber, watching fog coil through the streets like a living thing. Somewhere below, iron rang softly—steel being drawn, armor fitted, orders murmured with the reverence of prayer.
“They’re organizing,” she said.
Lexus sat on the edge of the bed behind her, elbows on his knees, head bowed. He had not slept. Neither had she.
“Yes,” he replied. “Aldric gave them permission.”
Anna turned sharply. “He said he would protect us.”
Lexus’s mouth curved—not in humor, but in grim c
