If the crown hesitated, it would not be hers.But if it moved first, the serpent would learn exactly what kind of Luna it had awakened.Dawn arrived slowly over Nightfall territory, not with warmth but with a pale, watchful light that stretched across the treetops like a silent witness. The forest felt restrained, as though even nature understood that something decisive was about to unfold. A thin layer of frost coated the ground, crunching softly beneath the boots of early patrol wolves returning from the perimeter. No attacks had occurred during the night. No new disturbances. And yet the absence of