Vanella did not sleep that night.
Every time she closed her eyes, the visions returned—faster now, sharper.
Water poured through her dreams like memory unsealed.
She saw the Tiger Clan meeting in shadowed halls.
She saw the seal hidden, moved, feared.
She saw lies layered upon lies until even the liars could not tell truth from ambition.
And always—
The same image.
A tiger's claw reaching for a crown already cracking under its own weight.
She woke screaming.
Raven was already there.
He stood beside her bed, expression dark, controlled, furious.
"You were attacked," he said. "Indirectly."
Her voice trembled. "They wanted to silence me."
"Yes," he said. "And now they know they can't."
She pressed her hands to her temples. "I don't want this. I don't understand it."
Raven looked at her for a long moment.
"You don't need to," he said quietly. "Not yet."
Outside the chamber, Lord Jinhai stood in silence, listening to the palace settle back into uneasy calm.
The Tiger Clan had tested the water.
And the water had answered.