Chapter 103

Victoria The next morning arrived with an urgency that made my skin crawl. Leo had been up since before dawn, coordinating with Tiny and Carson via encrypted channels while I worked in the greenhouse, refining my connection with the plant guardians. "The latest intelligence isn't good," Leo said as he found me communing with a particularly aggressive thornbush I'd just awakened. "Marcus has accelerated his timeline. Carson intercepted communications suggesting the ritual will happen tonight, not in two days as we thought." My blood chilled. "Tonight? But we're not ready—" "We have to be." Leo's voice was grim but steady. "The good news is that your plant scouts have been incredibly effective." I closed my eyes, reaching out through the network of consciousness I'd established with my green allies. Three small vine creatures I'd sent out at dawn were now positioned around Marcus's compound, hidden among the natural foliage. Through their senses, I could see the Moon Temple clearly for t