Jasmine excused Maren to guest quarters under Liora's watch and gathered her closest circle in the war room that had seen every major decision of the last several years — Xavier, Liora, Caleb, and Corin, summoned by urgent messenger from the alliance outpost he now helped oversee. The room felt smaller than she remembered it, crowded now with the weight of yet another threat none of them had asked for.

"We could refuse all of it," Xavier said, pacing the length of the room with barely restrained tension. "Refuse Maren's order, refuse whatever the Unbroken Accord wants, simply close our gates and raise our children away from every faction that...