The first warning came not as an alarm, but as unease.
Silvercrest Academy slept beneath a moon veiled in thin cloud, its towers rising pale and unbothered against the night. Wards hummed softly along the outer perimeter — ancient, layered protections that had held for generations. To most, that hum was background noise.
To Kael Ravenwood, it was wrong.
He slowed at the edge of the eastern battlements, one hand resting against the cold stone. The wardline beneath his palm pulsed — steady, but strained, like a heartbeat forced into calm.
Something had touched the borders.
Not broken them. Not challenged them openly.
Tested them.
Kael’s wolf stirred uneasily beneath his skin.
Below, the forest crouched in silence. No birds. No insects. Even the wind seemed to hesitate, as though wait
