“Vampires,” he said, shaking his head. “In the Academy.”
“Yes,” I replied evenly.
“And orcs,” he added, eyes sharpening. “Heading north.”
“Yes.”
He scrubbed a hand over his jaw and let out a breath. “Well. That’s… ambitious.”
“That’s one word for it,” I agreed.
Caleb’s mouth curved into something wry. “You should know right now, Maeve Bellemore, that no pack I represent will be stepping foot inside an Academy full of bloodsuckers.”
A few of the other shifters behind him murmured agreement, their postures tightening just enough to remind me how fragile this calm still was.
I didn’t flinch.
“The Academy isn’t a vampire stronghold,” I said. “It’s neutral ground.”
Caleb snorted. “Neutral doesn’t exist where immortals are concerned.”
“Maybe not where you’re from,” I said calmly. “But Stonewick has been balancing factions longer than most people realize.”
He studied me, something sharp and assessing in his gaze. “And who decides that balance?”
The question cut close.
For a heartbeat, I almost answered wrong, but then I felt the Academy hum behind me, not pushing, not directing, just… present.
“The Academy does,” I said carefully. “It’s not me, the fae, or the vampires. It’s not the shifters or goblins. The Academy opens when it believes something matters enough to be addressed together.”
Caleb’s expression hardened. “That’s dangerous.”
“Yes,” I agreed without hesitation. “It is.”
That seemed to surprise him.
I went on before he could fill the silence with assumptions.
“But what’s happening right now is more dangerous. Someone is deliberately pushing factions out of their homes. Orcs don’t march unless they’re out of options. Shifter territories don’t destabilize without cause.”
Caleb’s gaze flicked briefly toward the treeline, then back to me. “You’re assuming intent.”
“I am,” I said. “Because this isn’t random.”
His jaw tightened. “You think it’s the Priestess.”
“I know it is.”
That finally wiped the humor from his face.
A stillness settled over the pack, not hostile, but attentive in a way that made my skin prickle. Caleb straightened, the easy confidence draining out of him and leaving something heavier behind.
“I was wondering how long it would take for her name to come up,” he said quietly.
Keegan stiffened beside me.
“You know about her,” I said.
