The truce between the White Lotus and the Necromancer was exactly ten minutes old when the screaming started.
Silas was perched on the roof of the manor. The Wolf Prince threw his head back and let out a howl that chilled the blood. It was not a call to the pack. It was a warning of predators.
Valeria dropped the ledger she was holding. She sprinted across the courtyard and took the stone steps of the battlements two at a time. Kael and Ignis were already at the wall. They were staring into the dense purple smog of the corrupted forest just beyond the World Tree's barrier.
"What is it?" Valeria demanded. She leaned over the crenellations to get a better look.
"The geometry of the air is breaking," Ignis said. He pointed with his cane. "Look at the treeline. The smog is pulling inward."
Valeria activated her Monocle. The text flickered red in her vision.
[Warning: Dimensional Rupture Detected.]
[Proximity: Two hundred yards.]
