Of course he has.
I nod once.
“Then we start now.”
The laughter dies completely.
Outside, the wind shifts.
The world feels closer again.
The Ether stirs—waiting.
Chapter 44
Wes
An hour’s passed since breakfast, and I’m still nursing coffee gone cold.
The others have dispersed—planning, preparing, doing whatever needs doing before the Council arrives. But I’m distracted. Something has been shifting since Bree walked out, subtle but wrong. Like the air pressure dropping before a storm. But it feels like a warning.
I’m about to convince myself I’m imagining it.
Then she’s there.
Bree passes through the kitchen dressed and focused, her magic wrapped tight around her now—armoring herself. I notice before I mean to. Can’t help it. That humming pull under my skin, the way her emotions taste before she even speaks.
My hunger flickers. Not the kind that asks to take. The kind that demands I keep her safe.
Gray’s near the doorway, leaning wolf-casual but watching the courtyard with that feral alertness he gets since the Void.
Bree walks past us, intent.
“Where are you going?” I call out.
She pauses. Turns. “Oath Chamber. Checking on the Feeders going through.”
Gray straightens immediately, body language sharp.
I set my mug down, already moving. “Not to be overprotective, but one—or both—of us is coming with you.”
She starts to protest.
Gray cuts in. “This isn’t about stopping you. It’s about not letting you walk into something alone.”
Bree meets both our eyes. Something shifts in her expression—not surrender, just acceptance.
“Fine.”
We fall into step beside her.
Morning light filters through the garden, dew still clinging to the grass. The Ether feels heavier here, like fog before a storm. Bree’s emotions pulse steady but distant, as if she’s already somewhere else.
Gray walks slightly ahead, every movement watchful.
A few Feeders pause their work as we pass—rebuilding something near the gate, tending the gardens. I catch faint flickers of what they’re feeling. Worry. Reverence. Curiosity. None of it reaches Bree. She’s single-minded right now.
Gray breaks the silence first, voice lazy but amused. “So. Pants.”
