Something had changed at Dragonspire. I could feel it even though nobody had officially said anything.
The fortress remained busy, the markets continued filling the lower courtyards, dragons still circled above the mountains and nobles continued attending council meetings as though everything were normal, yet there was a tension beneath the surface that had not existed before.
People watched me differently. Servants became quieter when I entered rooms, guards seemed to appear wherever I went and conversations stopped whenever I approached.
Even Lyra had become unusually observant and I noticed it most clearly when I walked into the breakfast hall one morning and found twice as many guards standing outside the doors.
"Why are there so many soldiers?" I asked and Lyra glanced toward them
