---
Then… nothing. No second cry. No battle chant. Just a soft rumble of thunder in the clouds above.
Shadeclaw's eyes narrowed. He crouched low beside a spire of glassy stone, his claws flexing on the edge. "Someone couldn't keep calm."
Kai didn't flinch. His voice was quiet and iron flat. "Let the impatient bleed."
Behind him, Skyweaver's wing sensors gave a pulse of silent acknowledgment. Tunnel Crown didn't even turn his head. Heart Mason continued sealing a flask. Iron Rampant raised one ear slightly but said nothing.
The silver essence motes kept falling. Light drifted like stardust across their camp. Miryam shifted in her nest and purred softly. She was content and untouched by violence.
And the squad, one by one, adjusted the angle of their focus, not to panic, but to prepare. Because chaos had arrived early. And Alpha Dawn would meet it on their terms.
