The western palace alarms erupted all at once.
Metal bells thundered across the capital while distant screams echoed through the storm beyond the palace walls. The sound of battle rose beneath the snowfall in violent waves -- steel clashing against steel, wolves howling somewhere inside the frozen city streets, guards shouting orders already swallowed by chaos before they fully formed.
The western gate is under attack.
The sentence shattered the fragile stillness inside the audience hall completely.
Kael moved first.
Dark pressure exploded from him in a sharp wave powerful enough to extinguish the remaining candles near the shattered windows. The chamber plunged into colder shadows immediately while palace guards outside the hall straightened instinctively beneath the Crown Prince's aura.
"Report the gate status," Kael ordered sharply.
The guard near the doorway swallowed hard. "The southern wolves broke through the first barrier line. Black Guard units are engaging now."
