N Y X A R A
The scream did not come from me.
It ripped through Ashmoore’s walls. Every ward carved into the stone flared white, bleaching Kaelor’s face to bone. The report slipped from my hand as horns began to howl beyond the windows—one, then three, then all of them.
Lockdown.
I knew the word before anyone spoke it. Pain burned along my arm, but the seal had gone cold. Hollow. As if it had already released whatever waited behind it.
Kaelor reached the window in two strides.
“How far did that pulse travel?”
Elaren stared at my exposed arm. “Far enough.”
Outside, boots thundered over the courtyard. Gates slammed. Wolves shouted commands into the night. The sound of metal dropping into place rolled through Ashmoore like distant thunder.
I knew that rhythm. A fortress preparing to b
