The first light after the explosion bled gray over the shattered fortress. Smoke clung to the valley like breath trapped in a throat. Inside the half-collapsed council chamber, voices still rang — not of command, but of panic and accusation.

“Who set it?”

“Where’s the Alpha?”

“Did Rhovan escape?”

Each voice was an echo of the night’s betrayal. Broken banners hung in tatters; the air smelled of iron and ash. The council, what was left of it, had gathered around the central ...