Lyra's POV
The dawn broke silver over Riverbend, but the light felt wrong. Too pale. Too fragile.
Mist curled along the riverbanks, thicker than usual, and the forest that usually woke with birdsong remained eerily silent.
Lyra stood by her window, hands gripping the sill as she watched the fog move like a living thing. It slid through the trees and curled around the manor grounds, wrapping every wall in ghostly breath. The wards she had reinforced with the elders the previous night still shimmered faintly a halo of silver magic but even those seemed to flicker.
Something was coming. She could feel it.
Behind her, the faint crackle of a fire burned in the hearth, but it did nothing to chase the chill that clung to the room. Her wolf stirred uneasily beneath her skin.
Kaelan...
