The air should have felt easy after a game, but it didn't. Something lingered beneath the quiet, something none of them had spoken about.
Nyx paused mid-step.
It was subtle. A slight shift in her steps, a faint tilt of her head, like she was listening to something just out of reach. Even the breeze seemed to thin around her.
Levi noticed immediately. "What is it?"
Nyx didn't answer at once. Her fingers moved lightly at her side, as if brushing against something unseen, testing it. When she finally spoke, her voice carried a quiet edge.
"My shadows were stepped on," she said. "Our territory has been breached."
That was all it took.
Cade straightened, his attention sharpening as his gaze swept the grounds. Finn's casual posture disappeared, replaced with focus.
"After everything we've dealt with," Finn muttered, "something still thought it was smart enough to walk in uninvited?"
