“You heard me.” Wolfe’s gaze didn’t waver. “You will stay here in Galaythia.”
A cold knot formed in my stomach and dragged me under. I shook my head hard. “No. I won’t stay here. I was very clear. I only came here on the promise that I could return to my family.”
“I understand that.” There was that word again—understand—and I hated the vague way he wielded it, as if it softened what he was about to do. “My original plan was to send you home, but it appears the enemy used Thayden to reach you. That means it is no longer safe for you to be in the mortal lands.”
“You don’t know that for sure.”
Something dangerous flickered across his face—a flash of the predator beneath the prince. “I don’t believe my assumption is wrong. There is no way Thayden could have gotten to me otherwise. He definitely had help from the right people.”
My chest rose and fell rapidly, panic clawing at my throat. “I need to go home.”
“The enemy knows you can find the ring with your powers,” Wolfe said, unflinching. “They are aware the ring hides on a temporal plane. You are the path to finding a relic that holds the fate of Galaythia. I cannot, in good conscience, send you back.”
I balled my hand into a fist and slammed it into the table. “Damn it. I don’t fucking care about any of that. My family need me. They think I’m coming back. How dare you do this to me?”
Wolfe stood, too, rising to his full, imposing height. Shadows gathered around him as he regarded me with an unrelenting stare. “I said it's dangerous.”
I pressed a hand to my stomach, fighting the rising nausea. “What about my family?”
“I will figure something out.”
“Are you serious?” Rage roiled inside me, shaking my voice. “Telling me you’ll figure something out is not good enough.”
“It has to be.” His tone sharpened. “I refuse to allow the enemy—and Thayden—to get what they want. That motherfucker took you and tried to kill me with dark magic. He broke into the magical realm with an army of Scabbards with the intention of killing Galaythia’s heir. That cannot go unpunished.”
“This is a mistake,” Alaric spoke up.
Wolfe snapped his gaze to him, eyes wide and damning.
“We spoke about this at length, brother.” Alaric levelled Wolfe a hard stare. “You say it’s dangerous in the mortal lands. But we agreed it was more dangerous for her to be here. If our assumptions are correct, the enemy knew you were going to send Elariya home. That’s why they tried to take her and kill you. Since you’realive, their defenses would be weaker if they tried to take her from the mortal lands now.”
“Weak until they’re not.” Wolfe’s voice rose, rattling the ornaments on the shelves. “The Seer warned that would change. The enemy—whoever they are—will grow stronger. We don’t know when.”
“And when they do,” Alaric pressed, “keeping Elariya here in the magical realm will be the worst place for her.”
Wolfe cut him a stare so sharp, Alaric would be dead if a look could slice a throat. “That is my decision.” He turned to the rest of the room. “That is myfinaldecision. Anyone who disagrees is free to leave. I will not hold it against you. However, I must remind you that I handpicked each and every one of you here, Bloodsworn and Veythral alike, to back me up even when my decisions seem far-fetched or you don’t agree with me.”
His words shut Alaric down.
And no one left.
So, I guessed that meant they were staying. Standing with Wolfe. Inleaguewith him.
I looked at each of them, my gaze catching on Arielle. Fury simmered in her expression, but she was bound to him.
I tore my attention away and faced Wolfe again. “I want to gohome.”
“No.” Wolfe’s voice cracked like the tip of a whip. “I’ve made my decision. Meeting dismissed. You may all leave.”
Slowly, and without another word, everyone filed out of the room.
Everyone except me.
I wasn’t going anywhere. I wasn’t going to take orders and let him decide my fate—and my family’s.
The moment we were alone, I marched up to him.
Wolfe glared down at me, those piercing eyes boring straight through my soul. Up close he was terrifying.
