The howl in the distance did not stop.
It rolled again, longer this time, and every wolf in the hall felt it.
Lyria's skin went tight. The air in the room changed fast. It had that bad feeling right before a fight starts, when nobody has thrown the first punch yet but everybody already knows it's coming.
Kael's hand stayed on her arm, not letting go.
The rider who had brought the map did not look surprised anymore. That was almost worse.
"It's the shrine," he said again.
Kael's jaw flexed. "Are you sure?"
The rider nodded. "Smoke on the east road means someone lit the signal. Nobody does that by accident."
Mira looked like she was about to explode. "Yeah, well, thanks for the fun mystery trip. Can somebody tell us why every time we get a lead, something starts burning?"
Ronan gave a short, tired laugh. "Because whoever's behind this likes drama."
Nobody laughed back.
