CHAPTER 123 — WHEN WALLS TREMBLE
Ruinsand did not look unsettled.
That was the unsettling part.
The massive stone walls rose in a straight, unyielding line across the desert, carved from ancient bedrock and reinforced by generations of hunters. The circular guild headquarters towered behind it like a coiled sentinel, its layered balconies and outer platforms glinting under the morning sun.
But the air felt tight.
Charged.
As if something invisible pressed against the inside of the walls.
Bronze Squad's jeep rolled through the side gate reserved for hunters. Guards nodded them through without delay, though more soldiers than usual stood along the ramparts. Ballista mechanisms had been rotated outward. Watchtowers were fully manned.
Colby leaned slightly forward.
"…Okay. That's not normal."
"It's containment posture," Darius muttered.
Zehell didn't respond. Her eyes scanned everything.
