Another pause. Then the league rep gave a curt nod. “Very well. We’ll draft the final terms and circulate them for signatures. We expect your cooperation, Walker.”
“You have it,” Kieren said. His voice was still sharp around the edges, but he meant it.
The meeting wrapped quickly after that. The legal advisor gathered his papers. The officials rose and left without ceremony.
I glanced up at Kieren. He was staring at the floor like he might punch it.
“You okay?” I asked.
He looked at me then, eyes burning with something fierce and unspoken.
“No,” he said. “But I’d do it all again.”
And I didn’t doubt that for a second.
I reached for his hand without thinking.
And this time—he held on.
The door clicked shut behind the last league official, and just like that—it was over.
At least, on paper.
Cam stayed behind, lingering by the conference table like he wasn’t sure whether to breathe or break something. His shoulders sagged for the first time since we walked in. He looked ten years older.
Then he let out a long breath, the kind you only release when the danger’s passed—or at least paused. “You really sold it in there,” he said, running a hand through his hair.
Kieren didn’t even blink. “There’s nothing to sell.”
His voice was steady. Quiet. But it had that steel edge I was starting to recognize—the one that meant he wasn’t bluffing, wasn’t spinning anything for show.
“This isn’t a performance,” he said, locking eyes with Cam. “This is real.”
Cam stilled.
So did I.
And I don’t know what I expected, but that—his voice, the weight behind it, the truth laid bare like that—it hit me hard. Not in a romantic, swoony way.
No.
In the kind of way that made my heart ache and my spine straighten at the same time.
Cam gave a small nod, but I could see the gears in his head still turning. His expression softened just enough for the concern to slip through.
“You’re putting everything on the line for her,” Cam said, not unkindly. “You sure you know what that means?”
Kieren turned to look at me, and I swear, it felt like the world slowed down for just a second.
“Yeah,” he said. “I know exactly what it means.”
The room went quiet again, but this time it wasn’t awkward. It wasn’t tense. It was filled with something else entirely.
Conviction.
Cam finally stepped away from the table and clapped Kieren lightly on the shoulder. “Well,” he muttered, trying to break the mood with a half-smile. “Guess I better go write some very expensive press statements.”
Kieren gave a dry chuckle. “Make me sound tall and heroic.”
