She didn’t waste time. “There’s been movement.”
Keegan’s jaw clenched. “From who?”
“The clans,” she said. “Multiple territories. There are scouts shifting positions and patrols doubling back. Old paths being tested.”
My heart sank. “That doesn’t make sense. Ending the Hunger Path was supposed to calm the shifters.”
“It should have,” she agreed. “Which is why this concerns me.”
Keegan ran a hand through his hair. “Could it be aftershocks or residual tension?”
The Silver Wolf shook her head slowly. “No. This feels… intentional.”
A chill slid down my spine. “Intentional how?”
She hesitated, and that hesitation scared me more than anything else. “As if they’re responding to a signal or waiting for one.”
The weight of the day pressed down on me all at once. The circle. The orcs. The Priestess. Celeste leaving. And now this.
I wrapped my arms around myself. “So ending the Hunger Path didn’t end the unrest.”
“No,” the Silver Wolf said softly. “It changed it.”
“But at least it stopped Keegan’s curse,” I muttered, grateful for that more than most things.
Keegan glanced at me, worry flickering across his face. “Maeve…”
I exhaled slowly, forcing myself to stand tall.
“It’s fine,” I said, even as my pulse raced. “Okay, it’s not fine, but it’s… manageable.”
The Silver Wolf studied me for a long moment, her gaze assessing.
“You carry more than you realize,” she said.
That didn’t help.
I watched the road where Celeste had disappeared, and my heart ached, yet I remained resolute. I’d wanted to believe that ending the Hunger Path would bring peace, that the world would settle into something quieter.
But Stonewick had never been quiet.
And neither, it seemed, had the forces watching it.
Whatever came next, it was already moving.
Chapter Thirty-Three
By the time I made it back to the Academy, the air had shifted from watchful to restless.
The vampires had congregated near the eastern wing, drifting in loose clusters that pretended very hard not to be strategic formations. They stood with teacups clasped too tightly, murmuring to one another in low, musical tones that carried more tension than gossip. A few glanced toward the windows, their expressions sharp, alert, fangs glinting faintly when they spoke.
They didn’t look frightened.
They looked ready.
That alone sent a shiver down my spine.
Lady Limora found me before I could pretend I hadn’t noticed.
