The reckoning threshold
The city was alive. Every street, every shadow, every flickering streetlight seemed to move with purpose, responding to the pulse that radiated from Alina’s womb. The unborn heir stirred violently, golden energy flaring outward in waves so intense they bent the very air. Lucien pressed his hand to Alina’s back, steadying her as her breaths came shallow. “It is no longer simply aware. It is acting, deciding… defining who serves, who falls, and who survives.” Alina’s fingers dug into the soft fabric of her robes. “I… I can feel it thinking… judging… choosing… even before it takes a breath.” The child shifted again, golden light radiating outward, bending shadows and freezing operatives in mid-step. The courtyard, once merely a gathering of factions, had become a battlefield of intent. Ser
- Writer
