Mira’s POV.

Marcus finds me in Lyra's quarters with urgent news. "Emergency council session in an hour. Kael's orders."

"What's wrong?" I ask, already standing. "He wouldn't say. Just that everyone needs to be there." Marcus looks troubled. "Something's changed," I tell Lyra. I'll be back. She nods absently, absorbed in whatever Maren assigned her to think about.

The temporary council chamber is packed when I arrive. Tension ripples through the room. Kael stands at the center, not at the ...