The echo of Elowen's laughter still clung to the stone like frost when Seren felt the first true shift inside her.
She stood in the center of the royal bedchamber, the silver dagger from Elowen's warning still balanced in her palm. The triplets surrounded her; Aeron at the window scanning the gardens below, Kael pacing like a caged storm, Theron already dismantling the hidden panel behind the hearth with delicate precision. The bond thrummed between them, raw and protective, but something else threaded through it now. Something new. Sharper.
Seren's breath caught.
