Whatever was coming did not hurry.
That was the first thing Aria noticed.
The wind moved across the ridge in slow, steady passes, bending the tall grass and stirring the pine branches above the road. The guards had formed a line just beyond the tree line, rifles lowered but ready, wolves tense in their skin. No one spoke louder than necessary. Even the house behind them seemed to be holding itself still.
Aria stepped off the porch and into the yard.
Kai came with her immediately.
Marcus was two steps behind.
"Stay back," Kai said to the nearest guards without taking his eyes off the road.
Nobody argued.
At the edge of the clearing, the trees shifted.
Then a figure stepped out.
Not human.
Not wolf.
At least, not entirely.
She was tall and silver-haired, dressed in a simple dark coat that moved strangely in the wind, as if cloth and shadow hadn't quite agreed on their shape. Her face was young at first glance, old at second. Her eyes reflected too much light.
