Ares, Asher and Lara shouted at the same time.
The girl tilted her head, listening to something none of them could hear.
Then she pointed toward the heart of the ruins — a collapsed archway leading into darkness.
"Daddy," Shay said simply. "There is something there."
A wind rose without warning, spiraling through the broken fortress. Dust and dead leaves lifted from the ground, swirling like restless spirits. The temperature dropped sharply, cold enough to bite exposed skin.
A deep, resonant sound rolled through the stones — not quite a voice, not quite thunder. More like the earth remembering something it wished it hadn't.
The ruins answered.
Cracks glowed faintly along the ancient walls, thin lines of pale light bleeding through the stone like veins awakening after centuries of sleep.
Lara's heart slammed against her ribs. She was anticipating.
"Ares…" she whispered.
