Selene’s POV
By the time the raven arrived, the fortress had already begun to turn against itself.
Servants moved like ghosts, their eyes lowered. The air in the corridors felt heavier, as if the stones themselves were listening. Even the torches burned lower, their flames trembling against the drafts that whispered through the hall.
Malrik had always ruled with fear, but now that fear had shape — a shadow stretching long and sharp across every face that dared to look up.
Eryndor found me in the east courtyard, where frost still clung to the stone. He carried something small in his gloved hands — a sealed parchment tied with a dark ribbon.
“A raven came,” he said quietly. “No crest. It flew straight to my tower and wouldn’t land for anyone else.”
My heart quickened. “From Kael?”
“I
