CAIRN POINT OF VIEW.

I knew before I even reached the door that this wasn’t a friendly call.

It was in the way my name had been said, low, controlled, without the usual rough humor the guards threw around. No laughter behind it or impatience. Just a quiet certainty that I would come.

“Daren.”

I turned slowly.

Three of them stood a few paces away, not blocking my path, but close enough to make it clear this wasn’t a request. They weren’t like us, the newer ones still learning how to ...