Ravenspire did not breathe the same way after Selene left.
The air felt thinner.
Sharper.
As if the city itself understood that the pause was temporary.
Mira stood along the southern wall long after the fog had cleared.
"She did not attack," she said quietly.
"She did not need to," Megan replied.
Below them, the cliff remained sealed, but faint hairline fractures now traced across the stone like veins waiting beneath skin.
Darius approached from the inner yard.
His expression was no longer simply cautious.
It was heavy.
"Elara," he said.
She turned toward him.
"The Blood Council does not move like this over rumor," he continued.
"No," she agreed.
"They move for power."
Silence.
Mira looked between them.
"What is under that cliff?" she asked.
No one answered immediately.
Raven stepped forward from shadow.
"Something the Council tried to claim once," he said calmly.
Megan frowned.
"And failed?"
"Yes."
Darius looked at Elara again.
"And now it responds to you."
