This is alignment.
Darian is no longer an outsider.
Torric is reluctantly accepting.
Kieran is steady—old power held tight under control.
Finn is the emotional glue holding us together.
Aspen is quiet support, calculating every move.
And Kaia—everything in this room pivots around her now, whether any of us want to admit it or not.
We’re in this together. Because of her.
Whether it saves us… or takes us apart piece by piece.
Chapter 11
Kaia
Two days.
Two days of rest, careful movements, and shadows hovering like overprotective nursemaids.
I’m almost healed now. The sharp pain in my ribs has faded to a dull twinge—barely there unless I move wrong. My body feels lighter. Stronger.
But I need out of this house.
I’m already dressed. Boots laced. Nowhere to go.
I’ve been staring at the same four walls, the same concerned faces with too many questions for too long.
I need air.
The shadows hover near the walls—watching, waiting, but not crowding me like they did before.
Calmer today.
A knock at the door.
“I know you’re pacing in there,” Revna calls through the wood. “Come walk with me before you wear a hole in the floor.”
The door opens before I can answer.
Revna leans against the frame, eyebrow raised, looking entirely too smug.
I move to step forward—and Mouse flops dramatically across my boot, pinning me in place.
“Mouse.”
He doesn’t budge.
“Mouse, I need my boot.”
He flops dramatically to the side, purring louder.
I roll my eyes and step over him. “You’re ridiculous.”
