Chapter 131

Seraphine’s POV

I had been forced to step beyond the castle walls to stand sentinel over the pack during the grand ball. Inside, noble guests from across North Central and beyond mingled beneath glittering chandeliers, their laughter and music drifting out on warm night air—but hours ago, my heart had been heavy with dread. My conversation with Maeve had left me shaken: she’d described nightmares so vivid and dire they felt like omens, and that frightened me more than any threat. I wondered if we should have called off the festivities altogether.

We’d loosened the protective wards around our territory to welcome so many allies—and now I paid the price. Cloaked in shadow, I sensed a subtle shift in the air, a tremor in the currents of magic so faint it might have gone unnoticed, yet unmistakable to me. Drawing my hood up over my hair, I stalked back toward the castle, intent on finding Marcello. The ivy-clad walls glowed pale under torchlight, but inside, I knew, e