Ashworth's voice cut through the sudden tension with practiced calm. "Containment positions. Nobody advances without my signal."
The soldiers fell into formation around the chamber's perimeter, weapons raised toward the darkness beyond the throne, and for a long, stretched moment, nothing happened at all. The low growl didn't repeat. No shape emerged from the shadows. The chamber held its breath along with everyone in it.
"Wren," Ashworth said quietly. "Anything?"
Wren's eyes were closed, her expression pinched with concentration. "It's aware of us. It's not approaching yet. I think it's... assessing."
"Assessing for what?"
"I don't know. Threat level, maybe. Or something else entirely."
Victor found himself stepping forward almost without deciding to, some instinct pulling him toward the darkness the same way it had during the original encounter weeks earlier, when the creature's attention had settled on him and no one else in the room.
