Morning arrived without ceremony.

There was no proclamation, no bell rung from the upper towers, no council signal to mark the hour. Dawn simply unfolded—thin light slipping between rooftops, touching stone and glass and skin with equal indifference. The city woke not because it was told to, but because enough people decided it was time.

That, Draven thought, might be the most dangerous change of all.

He stood at the parapet as the first true light crept across Varenth, its rays catching ...