"No kingdom falls from without before it cracks from within. The clever enemy strikes not at walls or armies but at the heartbeat that keeps them steady."
SILAS'S POV
The temporary command centres my quiet, book-lined study had become a pressure cooker of dread and adrenaline. The lingering scent of Alpha anxiety was thick, but the immediate concern was no longer distant. It was sprinting toward us. Alaric was gone, chasing the illusion of a full-scale invasion at the Whispering Fells, leaving the heart of the Kingdom exposed.
