Chapter 177

Kaelen

They don’t knock.

They never do.

The air changes first—pressure settling in like a held breath, fire-lines tightening under my skin in a way that has nothing to do with threat and everything to do with authority. I know what’s coming before the doors open, before the chamber warms in response to presences older than my defiance.

The elders have decided it’s time to speak.

I rise slowly from