The weight of Liora's words settled over Ren like a stone slab.
The war had begun.
His parents, neighbors, and teachers, who had seemed safe after the rescue, were in danger again.
"How do you know?" Ren asked, wanting to deny it even though he could see the truth in Liora's mana patterns.
"Grandmother Selphira told me not to leave the castle under any circumstances," Liora responded, her voice losing some of its earlier tension but gaining a gravity that made her sound older than her eleven years. "She took some of the best soldiers who are always stationed here. And Larissa has been sending me messages..."
Liora knew. If Selphira was mobilizing her elite forces, the situation was far more serious than a border skirmish.
Ren's parents exchanged one of those wordless looks that only couples who had weathered decades together could share. His mother moved closer to him automatically, that protective instinct activating without conscious thought.
