The anonymous message arrived the next morning.

I sat alone in the Obsidian Citadel’s grand library, surrounded by books Alistair had gathered on the Storm-Bringer lineage. Most contained only fragments—battle accounts, council prohibitions, and illustrations copie

The southern warning changed the purpose of my training.

I was no longer preparing only for council suspicion. I was preparing to defend villages filled with wolves who had never seen me but legally depended on me.

That responsibility frightened me more

Smoke covered the southern valley.

The first village appeared beyond a line of ancient oak trees, its eastern cottages burning. Civilians ran toward the fields carrying children and bundles of clothing. Local guards attempted to hold the main road, but