The specific signature of someone on the other end pushing every available drop of mana into a single transmission because they didn't expect to get a second attempt.
Loki's hand was on the stone before he'd consciously registered why.
"Loki?" Seraphina said.
He didn't answer. He was listening.
The voice that came through was Cassius's, and it was wrong in a way that took Loki a full second to place — not the careful, measured cadence of two centuries of intelligence work, but something rougher. Strained. A voice working through something it shouldn't have to work through.
"Lord Loki. Chronus has invaded Vael'kira."
The hall went very quiet.
"He entered approximately one hour ago. He erected an isolation field over the entire city before entering — nothing in, nothing out. I couldn't reach you. I couldn't reach the settlement." A pause that cost something. "He has killed an unknown number. Soldiers. Civilians. The eastern garrison is gone."
