The palace trembled beneath the pressure.
Not metaphorically.
The marble beneath their feet cracked softly while the towering windows of the western audience hall rattled against the violent storm outside. Snow spiraled across the courtyard like pale ghosts beneath torchlight, swallowed repeatedly by waves of dark energy spreading through the capital.
And at the center of it all --
Something ancient had arrived.
Selene could feel it.
The wolf inside her reacted violently now, instincts clawing against her control hard enough to make breathing difficult. Heat spread beneath her skin in dangerous pulses while every sound inside the palace sharpened unbearably around her.
The distant panic of palace servants.
The rapid heartbeat of guards outside the chamber.
Kael's breathing directly in front of her.
Everything felt too alive.
Too close.
The low laughter echoing across the palace grounds faded slowly into silence afterward, though the terrifying presence behind it remained.
