Roman felt it before he heard it, an uneasy thrumming in his chest, a low instinctive warning that something was coming. When his laptop chimed, the sound cut clean through the silence of the room. He reached for it, barely exhaling, and clicked the notification.

A single line sat bold at the top of the email:

You are hereby summoned before the Crescent Sun Council. Immediate appearance required.

His jaw tightened.

Desiree.

Roman rose from the chair. “They summoned me.”

Her hands ...