POV: Lyra

The war council had been meeting for three days.

Maps covered every surface of the great hall. Markers and pins and lines of ink traced the movements of the Shadow Pack across the northern mountains. Scouts came and went with reports that grew more urgent with every passing hour.

They knew we were coming.

They had heard the howls. They had seen the banners. They had felt the shift in the air that came when a Bloodline heir claimed her throne.

And they were preparing.

I stood at the head of the table with my hands pressed flat against the wood and my eyes fixed on the map....