Page 147 of A Sunwoven Ascent

Her worst fear had come to life. They were here. In her home. In Caltheris. Along the edges of the manor grounds, their terrifyingly familiar forms stood solid. Twenty, perhaps more, staring through the foyer windows with suffocating stillness. They did not move. Did not advance.

They waited.

Evelyne’s fingers tightened in the fabric of her nightgown, her silk robe drawn close around her trembling body. She had fled her bedchamber the moment Kaldrek woke her, the urgency in his voice pulling her from sleep without question. Her first instinct had been to shift, to run, to check on the packs.

But she had not made it that far.

She had stopped in the windowed foyer before the stone patio, the same one Cillian had shattered months ago. Her breath came shallow as she scanned the figures again.

They could have entered already. She knew that. They could slip through the smallest cracks, dissolve into mist, seep into the manor without resistance. But they had not. Not tonight. Tonight, they showed themselves in full form.

Her stomach twisted.

They were here for a reason.

Evelyne took a careful step back, knowing full well they could see her. Their presence pressed against her skin, against her senses, as though they were already inside. Her gaze snapped toward movement behind her.

Sonya.

The young red-haired handmaid was finishing the last of the evening’s cleaning, her back turned, unaware.

“Sonya,” Evelyne whispered.

The girl froze instantly.

“Do not move. Just listen to me.”

Sonya turned slowly, her eyes widening the moment she saw Evelyne’s expression—the stillness in her posture, the tension in her voice.

“My lady?” she breathed, her own voice already trembling.

“I need you to find Lady Aurelia. And my mother,” Evelyne said quietly, each word precise. “Tell every servant and every guard to get inside. Find a safe room. Now.”

Sonya’s grip tightened on the mop, the wood rattling faintly against the floor as fear took hold.

“What is it?” she whispered.

Evelyne didn’t look back at the glass. She didn’t need to.

“Go,” she said, sharper now. “Now, Sonya.”

Sonya did not hesitate. She hurried down the corridor, her footsteps light as she vanished into the deeper halls. Evelyne watched her go, relief flickering in her chest, until movement at the edge of her vision snapped her attention back to the foyer.

A guard stepped from a side room, adjusting his coat as he moved toward the entrance, utterly unaware of what waited beyond the glass.

Evelyne’s breath caught.

No. No, no.

“Stop,” she tried to call, but the word barely left her lips before his hand reached the door.

One of them moved.

The stillness shattered. The Noskari surged forward with terrifying speed, crashing through the glass in a violent burst of sound and cold air. Shards flew across the foyer as they tore inside like creatures that had never belonged to the living world.

The guard never stood a chance.

One struck him before he could turn, a blur of gray and black that sent him crumpling to the floor. The sound he made died in his throat as another fell upon him instantly.