Moments later,

Author

The first warning did not come from a watchtower, or a scout, or a magic alarm. It came from the bond itself - sharp, sudden, a ripple of wrongness that swept through Aria like cold water.

She was standing in the nursery doorway, watching Malphas tuck a sleeping Mara into her cradle, when the air in the room suddenly grew thin. The crystals on the walls dimmed all at once, and far off, deep in the mountain, the great war horn of the Citadel blew - one long, deafening blast that meant 'imminent assault'.

Malphas was at her side in a heartbeat, his hand already on the...