The messenger arrived at dusk.
The forest felt him before anyone else did.
Nyx stood near the outer edge of the clearing when the shift came—a subtle tightening in the air, a ripple through the trees that moved faster than wind. Her wolf stirred immediately, alert this time, not warm like before.
This was different.
Measured.
Intentional.
Ronan stepped beside her without being called.
“Someone’s approaching.”
Nyx nodded once.
“I know.”
The trees did not open immediately.
They watched.
Waited.
Tested.
The figure appeared slowly through the forest line, his movements cautious, controlled. A lone rider, cloaked in Vale colors, though even that felt uncertain beneath the weight of the land pressing against him.
He stopped just before the boundary.
He didn’t try to cross.
Smart
