Lucien POV

I had barely slept. Something in the night hadn’t felt right. The forest was too quiet, the usual sounds missing. I stood by the window, staring out at the woods beyond the walls.

A knock came at the door. Matteo stepped in, his face pale. “You need to see this,” he said.

I followed him outside where two guards were waiting near the training yard. One of them pointed toward the trees. “We found markings,” he said.

“What kind of markings?” I asked.

He handed me a ...