The promise makes warmth bloom in my chest even as practical fear whispers warnings about trusting too completely. "You can't control everything that happens."
"No," he agrees, large hands still framing my face with gentleness that makes my throat tight. "But I can control my choices. And I choose to fight for this, for us, for whatever future we can build together."
The words settle like balm on wounds I didn't realize were still bleeding, hope replacing fear in gradual increments that feel sustainable rather than overwhelming. When I kiss him again, it's with acceptance that feels like coming home after years of wandering.
But even as I sink into the safety of his arms, nagging worry about Sera and what she might represent continues to gnaw at the edges of contentment. Something about her presence here feels too convenient, too perfectly timed to be coincidence. And if she's been in contact with the Stonevein, if she's told them anything about Frostfang defenses or about me...
"What has Sera told you?" I ask, pulling back enough to see his expression clearly.
Kai's jaw tightens with frustration. "Nothing useful. She admits she's Stonevein but won't explain why she came here, why she tried to take you, what she hoped to accomplish. Just keeps saying there's more we don't understand."
The evasiveness makes my skin crawl with familiar dread. "That's not good."
"No, it's not." His ice-blue eyes hold grim assessment that speaks to military experience I sometimes forget he possesses. "But Bronn's interrogating her. She'll talk eventually."
I want to share his confidence, but something about Sera's behavior triggers warning bells I can't ignore. The way she looked at me when she claimed another human needed help, the familiarity in her green eyes that I'd dismissed too easily—it all feels like pieces of a puzzle I should be able to solve but can't quite fit together.
I'd been so wrapped up in my own problems that I hadn't even considered that they would need me to tell them what I saw. At first, it was because I didn't know who to trust and now all my problems from before had been pushed out of my mind.
But I can help.
"I know why she's here."
Kai's expression sharpens with immediate attention. "What do you mean?"
The longhouse suddenly feels too small, walls closing in as implications cascade through my mind in terrifying sequence. "She wasn't trying to kidnap me randomly. She knows who I am, what I've seen. She's here because the Stonevein need to know if I've told anyone about what they're doing."
"Saela." His voice carries urgent intensity that makes my pulse race. "What did you see?"
I meet his ice-blue gaze with fear that probably shows too clearly in my gray-green eyes. The truth I've been carrying feels like poison in my veins, a secret that could destroy any chance of safety I might have found.
But he deserves to know. If I'm putting him and his clan in danger by being here, he deserves to understand exactly what kind of threat I represent.
"They're trying to get their magic back," I say quietly, words dropping into silence like stones into still water. "I saw them kill my friend Nia, using her blood in some kind of ritual. They think human blood is the key to restoring what they lost."
He stares at me in complete shock. "Well, that changes everything."
15
KAI
The revelation about blood magic and human sacrifice stuns me, ice flooding my veins as implications cascade through my mind. Saela's words echo in the sudden silence—They think human blood is the key to restoring what they lost—and everything clicks into place with terrifying clarity.
"We need to tell Bronn immediately," I say, already moving toward the door with urgency that makes my pulse race.
Within the hour, I'm standing in Bronn's private chamber with my brother's steel-gray eyes boring into mine as I relay what Saela told me. His expression grows grimmer with each word, thick features hardening into the mask of leadership he wears during clan crises.
"Blood magic," he says finally, voice carrying disgust that matches my own. "No wonder they're so desperate to reclaim her."
"She's not safe here," I state what we're both thinking, protective instincts screaming warnings about threats closing in. "If they're willing to infiltrate our territory during Valentine celebrations, they'll try again."
"Which is exactly why we don't spread this information around." Bronn's steel-gray eyes meet mine with calculation I recognize from years of following his military strategies. "Panic serves no one. The clan needs to feel secure during the festivities, not jump at shadows."
The pragmatic assessment makes sense even as every fiber of my being rebels against the idea of pretending normalcy while Saela remains a target. "So we just act like nothing's changed?"
"We act like we're in control," he corrects with authority that brooks no argument. "Drogath's already demanding we continue the Valentine celebrations as planned. Tonight's warrior displays will proceed on schedule, and everyone will see that Frostfang traditions remain strong despite outside interference."
I want to argue, to demand we lock Saela away somewhere completely secure until this threat passes, but experience tells me Bronn's approach is sound. Visible panic would only make us look weak to potential enemies while creating chaos among our own people.
