Chapter 148

And at that moment—without any warnings—the floor trembled.

Not violently at first. Just a faint rumble beneath their feet, like the distant roll of thunder from deep within the earth.

Forks paused halfway to mouths. Conversations trailed off.

Then the tremor grew stronger. Plates rattled. A few goblets tipped and clattered to the floor, shattering. The chandeliers overhead swayed slightly.

The room stilled as everyone stood, eyes shifting to each other. A hushed panic crept in—unspoken but shared.

Elena’s eyes narrowed, her voice steady despite the sudden tension as she murmured lightly “That wasn’t an earthquake.”

But Liam standing next to her heard it clearly “No…That was something else.”

With that everyone in the dining room walked out the palace and flew into the say.

And then they felt it.

It came not as a sound, but as a presence—thick and cloying, brushing across the skin like ash carried on a windless night. A w