Three months of peace.
Kaelen almost forgot what fear felt like.
He woke each morning in Haven, ate breakfast with Zara, trained with the Freehold fighters, and worked with Elara on the new network. The Harvesters were calm. The crystals were dark. The signal was silent.
Then the tremors started.
---
The first tremor hit at dawn.
Kaelen was in the longhouse, studying maps of the ring. The ground shook. Cups fell from tables. People shouted.
He ran outside.
The crater—the old Source—was glowing. Not blue. Not white. Red.
The Harvesters screamed.
“The ring. Something is happening at the ring.”
Elara was already at her console.
“The signal is back. But different. Stronger. It's not coming from the ring. It's coming from beyond.”
“Beyond where?”
“Beyond the ring. Beyond the solar
