Chapter 82. No Longer Silent

The message came in the mouth of a dying hawk.

It fell from the sky just before dawn, its wings already burned at the tips, its body twitching with the telltale hum of a broken sigil. Aria found it herself, curled in the frost by the northern wall, its eyes wide open and unseeing. A shard of obsidian was tied to its leg with a length of crimson twine.

She didn’t call for Cassandra.

She didn’t wait for Kade or Jules.

She untied the shard with steady fingers and held it to the light.

It shimmered.

Then spoke.

A man’s voice—low, rough, and tired.

“This is First Speaker Dalin of the Firegate Clan. We have fallen. I repeat—we have fallen. Three rings ruptured overnight. All who resisted the resonance were overtaken. Our glyphs reversed. The forest moved inward.”

There was a pause.

A breath.

Then:

“We no longer fear the girl. We beg her.”

The shard dimmed.

Then shattered in Aria’s hand.

She didn’t mo