The air changed almost immediately. The calm sky began to churn as darkness spread across it, swallowing the clear blue and smothering the warmth of the sun, yet when the warriors lifted their frightened eyes, they quickly realized that no storm clouds had gathered above them.
It was something else, something vast and black, like living magic or an endless mass of shadows casting itself over the fortress. It stretched farther with every passing second, creeping across the heavens like the open jaws of some enormous beast preparing to descend and swallow every last one of them whole.
Max had never been particularly good at holding his temper, and now, more than ever, being humiliated and spoken down to by a handful of nameless guards was something he could not tolerate. He had approached their walls without hostility and given them every opportunity to recognize him, yet they had answered his patience with mockery and disrespect.
