The light went out — not suddenly, but as if the world itself took a slow, shuddering breath before forgetting how to exhale.

When sight returned, it came fractured — flashes of silver and black, fire and mirror, faces illuminated by the glow of something that was no longer the sun.

Kael was the first to move. His voice, hoarse but commanding, broke through the stunned silence.

“Sound the call! Now!”

The old horn — once used only to summon the council during war — rose from the ...