Chapter 172

Maren

The first sign of the attack isn’t fire.

It’s silence.

The land goes quiet in a way that makes my skin prickle—no wind through stone vents, no distant wingbeats, no low hum of heat under the ground. Even my breath sounds too loud, like I’m disturbing something that’s holding very still on purpose.

My wolf freezes inside me.

Ambush.

My siren’s voice doesn’t sing. It tightens, currents drawing