The revelation struck me with enough force to wake every spark beneath my skin.

“My mother’s sister?” I whispered.

The lower archives seemed to contract around us. Ancient shelves rose on both sides, their shadows stretching across the stone floor. The leather-bound

The Supreme Citadel’s war room filled within twenty minutes.

Commanders entered wearing half-fastened armor, carrying maps, field reports, and communication stones. The celebration banners from my coronation still hung in the upper corridors, but below them soldiers

The first clash reached us through the mountains.

A roar rolled across the southern range, followed by the distant impact of hundreds of wolves colliding inside the pass.

Alistair’s force had met Magnus’s army.

Axel paused on the river trail, listening