The night air hung heavy over Shadowfang Fortress. Clouds crawled across the moon, dulling its light, and the wind carried the faint scent of rain and ash. The battle from earlier still echoed in Selene’s mind, the sounds, the cries, the rush of adrenaline. But beneath all that was something stranger, something she couldn’t name. A whisper in her blood.

She stood by the balcony outside the council chamber, staring at the dark forest. Behind her, the fortress hummed with low voices and ...