Lyra opened her mouth.
And the whole room stopped.
Not because anyone told it to. Not because something loud happened. It stopped the way things stop right before a storm rolls in. Like every person in that room, every breath of air, every flicker of the marks on the walls already knew that something was about to change. And it was waiting.
Aelara stood in the doorway. Vaelor was just behind her, close enough that she could feel the warmth of him at her shoulder.
She watched Caelum. His hands were open at his sides. Relaxed, but not casual. The kind of open that meant he was ready for anything.
The stone in Lyra's hands glowed softly from across the room. And the marks on both twins were pulsing in the exact same rhythm.
Like a heartbeat that belonged to both of them at once.
Then Lyra spoke.Aelara would not remember it as a word later. She wouldn't be able to repeat it, wouldn't even be sure she'd heard it with her ears. What she felt was pressure.
