It started quietly.

At first, no one thought much of it — a few wolves feeling dizzy after a meal, a handful complaining of stomach aches. The healers said it was exhaustion, maybe bad meat, or a strange fever brought by the change of weather.

But within days, the sickness spread like fire.

Freya watched from the window of the council chamber as stretchers were carried through the courtyard, bodies wrapped in sheets, everywhere was filled with fear and confusion. The kingdom that once ...