The first thing Aurora notices after decentralizing command is silence.
Not the silence of fear.
Not the silence of tension.
But the silence of absence.
The weight that once pressed directly behind her ribs has shifted outward—distributed across five. The web no longer hums in a single line through her spine. It branches.
Kade holds military oversight over western patrol rotations.
Ilyra commands rapid response units.
Mara manages civilian corridors and human coordination.
Two wolf elders, Taron and Selene, oversee internal logistics and outer watch alignment.
Aurora remains visible.
But no longer singular.
And that changes something.
For three days, there is no strike.
No propaganda leaflets.
No probes at the perimeter.
The valley breathes, cautious and wary.
"They're recalculating," Ilyra says during a twilight report.
"Yes," Aurora replies.
"They expected fracture."
"We gave them structure."
Silence.
But recalculation never means retreat.
