Marcus POV
"She will."
Because if I can trace it, she can too.
Aurora's shoulders tense slightly.
"If that anchor destabilizes publicly…"
"It won't be a political problem," I finish. "It will be a territorial one."
And Oakwood already withdrew neutrality.
Which means any movement now is interpreted as positioning.
Aurora exhales slowly.
"Lines are forming," she says.
"They already have."
I think of the courtyard.
The whispers.
The way wolves avoided certain corridors tonight.
The way Catherine walked out without defending herself.
Not civil war.
Not yet.
But alignment.
That's how fractures begin.
Not with claws.
With posture.
My slate vibrates again.
The coastal flare spikes violently.
Longer this time.
I zoom in just as the signature distorts the local grid.
Power surges outward from a single point.
Then,
Darkness.
The map flickers.
Communication blackout in that sector.
Aurora sees my expression.
"What happened?"
"Something answered," I say.
