Page 360 of Elemental Becoming

It’s subtle, but I catch it. His grip tightens on the edge of his bowl, and every trace of ease disappears from his posture.

He rises in a single, decisive motion.

“Rowena. Garrick. Jarek. Rian.” His voice carries the authority of a leader, but there’s an edge to it now. “War room. Five minutes.”

Chairs scrape back immediately.

Rowena is already on her feet, her attention sharpening. Jarek doesn’t say a word. He simply nods and rises, every bit of humor gone. Garrick’s easy demeanor disappears just as quickly. He gives Lyra’s hand a brief squeeze before standing.

Rian is the last to move, calm and efficient as ever.

Around the table, the mood shifts. What was laughter a moment ago gives way to a heavy silence. Every soldier here knows what it means when the war room is called without warning.

Then Thane turns to me.

“I need you to come too,” he says, meeting my gaze.

A suffocating tension settles over the table. I search his expression for more, but whatever this is, he has already locked it behind the Warlord’s mask. And he believes I am ready.

I nod. “Alright.”

Kieran’s eyes tighten. Sera leans over and presses a quick kiss to Rowena’s cheek before giving her a nod. Lyra looks my way, concern lining her face.

“If Amara is going, I’m going,” Lyra announces as she rises.

Thane and Garrick exchange a brief look. Garrick blows out a breath as if bracing himself, and turns to her.

“You’re staying.”

Lyra fixes him with a look that promises violence.

“Don’t start with me, Ly. For once, please do as I ask. You don’t have a dragon, and I need to know you’re safe while I’m dealing with whatever this is.”

For a moment, it looks like neither of them intends to back down. Then Garrick reaches down, cups her face, and kisses her hard enough to leave no room for argument. When he pulls away, he doesn’t wait for a response. He turns and strides from the hall.

Lyra watches him go before lowering herself back onto the bench.

“Gods,” she mutters. “I find it incredibly unfair when he does that.”

Kieran raises a brow but wisely keeps his thoughts to himself. I squeeze Lyra’s arm once before rising to my feet and following the others out of the hall, my pulse already beginning to quicken.

Several minutes later, we gather around the war table. The council is already there.

Master Orlon Revic stands nearest the glowing map, his attention fixed on the pulsing red light at its center. Beside him, Lady Sienna Dain waits with her usual stillness, poised and unreadable. Lord Edric Voss leans forward on scarred knuckles, his expression grim.

Valen stands just behind Thane, his staff resting lightly in one hand as he studies the map in silence.

The display glows brighter at its center, a pulsing red flarehovering over the southern edge of the realm.

Orlon is the first to speak. “There’s been an attack. We haven’t seen this kind of assault in more than a decade.”

The words barely settle before Thane cuts in. “Where?”

Edric’s answer comes immediately. “Greythorne Keep.”

The mood in the room changes instantly. I feel it in the way everyone straightens in the silence that follows.

Greythorne.