The plan is simple.
Which means it's going to fall apart.
Maera spreads the map across the stone table in the inner ring, weighted down by glowing crystals that pulse softly with the sanctuary's heartbeat. Wolves crowd around it, scouts, fighters, healers, faces tight with fear and resolve.
"They won't come for Lina directly," Maera says. "Not yet. They want Aurora to leave the valley. They want her exposed."
I plant my hands on the table. "Then we don't let them finish the thought."
Kade stands across from me, arms crossed, eyes scanning the map. "Where would you take a Marked child to bait another Marked?"
Maera taps a narrow pass carved into the mountains east of the ravine. "The Shattergate."
My stomach drops.
Even I've heard the name.
An ancient crossing where ley-lines fracture and power behaves badly. Wolves lose their sense of direction there. Magic echoes. Sound bends. Nothing is stable.
