Meadow's POV
The message lingered on the screen like a blade hovering above your thoughts. "Your next move will decide who survives." You could feel its weight in the room, pressing against the calm facade Alaric tried to maintain, rattling the edges of Dr. Ward's analytical poise, and shattering the fragile patience Lily clined to. It wasn't a threat, not in the conventional sense. It was an assertion of control. A line drawn in invisible ink across the city, marking the point at which the fourth vector was no longer passive, no longer watching from the shadows. They were initiating engagement.
