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Rhyven looks toward the case. "Whatever took the woman prioritized the active enchantment."

Professor Neris considers. "Possible."

"And Oren's arm was collateral."

"Possible."

Cassian folds his arms. "I hate the word possible."

Nyra doesn't look up. "It's better than wrong." Fair.

By nine, the Council is called. Of course. Nobody asks us to leave. That feels new. Maybe because we've stopped being students in these rooms and started becoming part of the machinery. Not sure how I feel about that.

The first useful conclusion is written on the board: HOLLOWBORN CONTACT DOES NOT ALWAYS REMOVE MAGIC.

Second: INTERRUPTED EVENTS MAY CAUSE TEMPORARY MAGICAL DISRUPTION.

Third: ACTIVE ENCHANTMENTS MAY DRAW OR ABSORB GREATER EFFECT.

Fourth: PHYSICAL RESISTANCE MAY SLOW DISAPPEARANCE.

May. May. May. Everything still uncertain. But useful. Then the dragon reports arrive. I almost miss them. A Rider courier hands Rhyven a packet. He opens it. Reads once. Then again. His expression changes. "Kaelis." Professor Kaelis looks up from across the room. Rhyven hands him the report. Kaelis reads. Swears. That gets everyone's attention.

"What." Caelen asks.

Professor Kaelis puts the report onto the table. "Dragon response logs." Nyra is beside him before anyone else. Each Elarion settlement has dragon patrol records. Routine. Boring.

Until the times are compared. At Meredin, two dragons became agitated seven minutes before the first ward drop. At Lethyr, one dragon refused to cross a tree line eleven minutes before the disappearance. At the third settlement, a bonded female woke her Rider and repeatedly pushed him toward higher ground. Nine minutes before the magical instruments recorded anything abnormal.

I stare. "Before."

Professor Kaelis nods. "Before." Not after. Not during. Before. Rhyven pulls Theryn's file. Then Aelindra's. Then our own old reports. He spreads them across the table. My pulse starts climbing.

Theryn saw something before the meter screamed. We knew that. She turned toward the trees. Protect.

Run. Aelindra's memory showed the ward dim before complete silence. Historical dragon records described refusal, agitation, migration changes before open attacks. It has been sitting in front of us.

"Dragons are detecting it before the wards." I say.

No one corrects me immediately.

Professor Neris studies the reports. "Potentially before our instruments detect it."

Cassian points. "That's significantly worse wording."

"It's accurate."

Rhyven is already moving. "How early."

Kaelis looks toward the reports. "Seven to eleven minutes in current Elarion cases."

"Consistent?"

"Three sites."

"Enough to test." Rhyven turns toward the Headmaster. "Dragon observation becomes part of early-warning protocol."

The Headmaster nods. "Immediately."