I squeeze back, because yes, I’m here, I’m choosing this.
Eventually, in the crowd, I find Ryder too. Our eyes meet, and a quiet settles between us. I move toward him, weaving through the crowd, aware of him the whole time in that strange, soothing way I’ve come to know.
When I reach him, his hand comes up, brushing along my arm.
“You’ve been out,” he says.
“No one told me I was grounded,” I reply. “Not during the festival where the whole town is out, looking out for me.”
His mouth almost curves. “Reckless.”
“Brave.”
“Stubborn.”
“Definitely.”
That earns me the smallest shift in his expression, which feels like approval.
His gaze lingers, deeper now, like he’s looking for anything that says I’m not ready for this.
I don’t hide from him.
“I’m okay,” I say softly.
He studies me.
Then nods. “Stay close.”
“I was planning on it.”
I don’t feel the urge to leave.
I don’t feel the pull of the road or the need to keep moving just to outrun something I can’t name.
I feel still, in the best possible way.
Like I’ve landed somewhere.
Like something in me finally stopped searching.
CHAPTER FIFTY
Ryder
“…patternof instability, questionable ownership, and potential threat to public safety…”
Wren’s voice carries cleanly through the council chamber, practiced and precise, the kind of tone that makes concern fact if you don’t look too closely.
I listen.
I’ve been waiting for this move.
The room’s full. People line the walls, crowd the aisles, all of them watching because they can feel the shift before it happens.
Good.
Let them watch.
