They didn't drag Theo to the Warden's hall.Magda hauled him there by the collar like a stray dog that had bitten the wrong person.
The guards at the door stepped aside quickly, their eyes flicking to the green-bound hilt at Theo's side. No one touched him, but no one looked away, either.
The Warden was already standing when they entered, which Theo took as a bad sign. The man's coat was half-unbuttoned, his silver hair slightly disheveled, as though he'd been pulled from sleep. But his eyes — pale and cold — were awake enough for both of them.
"Explain," he said.
Magda's tone was clipped. "The gatehouse door was open. I found him past the wards, halfway to the thickets."
The Warden's gaze sharpened. "And the guest?"
"It was waiting for him," Magda said. "Spoke to him."
The Warden turned that gaze on Theo. "What did it say?"
Theo hesitated. "It… called me 'little wolf' again. Said I carry teeth I haven't grown yet. That when I touched the seam, I gave it my name."
The Warden's expression didn't change, but the air in the room seemed to thin.
"You touched the seam," he said, not a question.
Theo forced himself to meet his eyes. "Yes."
The Warden looked to Magda. "And the sword?"
"Drawn," she said.
The Warden let out a slow breath through his nose, like a man counting to keep from striking someone. "You have no idea what you've done."
Theo bristled. "Then tell me. Because so far all I've heard are warnings and half-truths."
The Warden stepped closer. "The seam in that wall is not a crack. It is a lock. And what lies behind it… is older than this keep, older than the guests. You touched it with blood the moonwater sang for, and now it knows you. Knows your scent. Knows the rhythm of your heart."
Theo felt the room tilt slightly. "Then why send me here at all?"
"Because," the Warden said, "you may be the only one who can close it again. Or the one who opens it for good."
The silence stretched until Magda spoke. "We need to strengthen the wards. Tonight wasn't a breach, but it was close."
The Warden's jaw tightened. "Do it. Double the watch on his quarters."
Theo frowned. "You think I'm just going to sit in my room while that thing—"
"That thing," the Warden interrupted, "is patient. It has waited longer than your bloodline has existed. And now, for the first time in decades, it sees a path through the wall. You will not give it that chance."
Theo almost said more, but the hum in the sword grew sharper in his hand, as if warning him. He kept silent.
As Magda led him back through the corridors, Theo noticed something he hadn't before — faint streaks of frost along the base of the walls inside the keep. They trailed away from the gatehouse, curling like fingers toward the heart of the stronghold.
Magda saw him looking. "It's probing. Testing. Every time it touches the wards, it learns something."
Theo's voice was low. "Then it's only a matter of time."
Magda didn't answer.
When they reached his quarters, the wards on the door burned brighter than usual, and two guards stood watch outside. Inside, the blue lantern had been replaced with one that burned gold.
"Stay inside," Magda said. "And if you hear knocking—"
"I won't open it," Theo said.
She gave a short nod, then stepped out.
Theo sat on the bed, sword across his knees, eyes on the burned marks on the door.
He didn't hear the knocking.But somewhere, faint and deep, he felt it.Like a heartbeat.Coming from behind the seam in the records room.