The park inspection was supposed to be routine.
It wasn’t.
Lyra felt it the moment she stepped beyond the inner gate.
Too many guards.
Too much spacing.
Too carefully arranged.
“Stay close,” Kael had said before she left.
But she didn’t argue.
Not this time.
Because something in the air already felt wrong.
The outer inspection grounds were quiet.
Almost peaceful.
Almost.
Lyra walked between the boundary markers, her eyes scanning the terrain.
“This section has been unstable since last cycle,” one of the escorts said.
Lyra nodded.
But her attention wasn’t on the land.
It was on the rhythm of movement around her.
Too coordinated.
Too structured.
And then,
it happened.
A shift in the wind.
A sudden sound behind her.
Not loud.
But close.
Too close.
Lyra turned
And
