“Doesn’t matter,” I say. “You’re done here.” I open the door.
Cold night air spills into the cabin, cutting through the heat of the enclosed space. Distance clears my head faster than anything else could. I step onto the porch and don’t look back.
Behind me she says, steady and stubborn, “This isn’t over.”
No. It isn’t.
I descend the steps and move into the dark, putting as much space between us as possible before the bond tightens further and makes the choice for me.
The torches are already lit as I come up to the mansion.
Smoke drifts low across the stone clearing, thick and restless. The council hasn’t dispersed. They’re waiting for me to finish what I walked out on.
Ciaran meets me near the outer ring. His shirt is half-buttoned, hair still damp from a rushed shift.
“You left her,” he says quietly.
“Yes.”
“Alive?”
“For now.”
His jaw tightens, but he doesn’t press. “They’re calling it abandonment.”
“They would.”
We step into the clearing together.
Brynn stands near the central slab, staff planted firmly against stone. Marek and Lydia flank her. Ronan watches fromthe outer ring. Gideon stands opposite them, broad shoulders squared, expression calm in a way that feels rehearsed.
“You dismissed council mid-session,” Brynn says.
“There was a patrol signal,” I reply. “Lower forest. Near the rental cabins.”
Gideon tilts his head. “Convenient.”
“It was real.”
“And the human?” Lydia asks. “Was she part of the signal?”
“She was the target.”
A murmur ripples through the circle.
Marek steps forward slightly. “Clarify.”
“The rogue approached her cabin,” I say. “He attacked.”
“And you intervened,” Gideon adds.
“Yes.”
“How much did she see? What does she know?” Marek asks, his voice steady, despite the urgency in his question.
Lydia’s tone sharpens. “We can’t risk finding out. She cannot remain alive.”
Ciaran moves half a step behind me, but he doesn’t interrupt.
