AT THE SAME TIME
MICHAEL'S POINT OF VIEW:
The laughter hadn't even faded before the world reminded us it hadn't forgotten. We were gathered around the fire. Ren had finally uncurled his fingers from the blanket. Jessa had accepted seconds from Damien's awkward but genuine stew. Isabella had leaned her head on my shoulder, her warmth grounding me in a world that still felt too fragile. Then the barn's old radio crackled.
A weird distortion, like static laced with something... intentional. I stood immediately, my body tensing out of reflex. Lucien turned toward it, brows furrowed.
"That thing even work?"Lucien asked.
Before anyone could answer, every screen, Mara's travel monitor, the little powered TV Emory found in the farmhouse, and even Rosalie's busted tablet blinked on.
"System notification - unauthorised broadcast incoming."A voice said.
Text scrolled first. Then a voice, one we hadn't heard since the ascendant heart slipped through.
Cold. Genderless. Synthetic.
