General Thorne struck just before midnight.
His raiders emerged from the treeline like ghosts, silent, disciplined, and ruthless. They hit the caravan from three sides, using fire arrows to ignite the lead wagons and create panic. Shouts and screams filled the night as northern wolves in partial shift tore into the guards. The goal was not total destruction, but disruption and fear: burn enough supplies to weaken the border, kill enough soldiers to send a message, and slip away before reinforcements could arrive.
Theron's network, however, had been watching.
A shadow agent hidden in the treeline sent a urgent raven-signal the moment the first arrow flew. Within minutes, the alarm reached the royal command post ten miles south.
In the war tent, the triplets and Seren reacted instantly.
