The world answered Aria's declaration with silence.
Not the peaceful kind.
The waiting kind.
The Sovereign Hold felt it first. The ancient stone groaned softly beneath her feet, wards recalibrating, sigils along the walls flaring and dimming like watchful eyes. Somewhere deep within the fortress, something old shifted position, as if a long-unused chess piece had been lifted and set back onto the board.
Aria stood alone on the balcony overlooking the inner courtyard, the cool morning air brushing against her skin. Below, guards moved in tighter formations. Wolves whispered. No one laughed.
Balance had been named.
And naming things had consequences.
Damien joined her without a sound, his presence a steady weight at her side. He didn't speak at first. He simply rested his forearms on the stone railing, gaze fixed on the horizon where the mountains cut jagged lines against the sky.
"They'll move now," he said at last.
Aria nodded. "I know."
