Page 124 of Iron Beneath the Snow

“You stand between,” the messenger observed.

“I stand where I choose,” Soren answered.

The exchange held for a moment longer before the messenger rolled the hide closed with deliberate care.

“These terms remain until next moon,” he said. “After that, Frostvein proceeds under law.”

“Proceed.”

The rider inclined his head and stepped back through the gates without turning his back, the others following in quiet formation until they dissolved into the pale distance.

The gates closed behind them.

The courtyard exhaled, sound returning in controlled fragments as orders formed and movement resumed with renewed tension.

Eira remained where she stood.

Circle.

Had an Alpha stood within it, Frostvein would have known.

Or so they believed.

The explanation she had relied on no longer felt complete.

Soren turned toward her, his expression composed in a way that revealed nothing.

“You should not have spoken,” he said.

“I spoke accurately.”

“You exposed yourself.”

“I refused to be erased.”

A pause held between them.

“You will not answer Frostvein alone.”

The command carried no softness.

“And if I choose otherwise?”

His gaze held hers, steady and certain.

“You won’t.”

That certainty unsettled her more than anger would have.

The thread tightened at her throat in answer, but she no longer trusted every response enough to interpret it.

“You confirmed again that I am a claim,” she said quietly.

“You are covenant.”

“You told them you do not answer to old law.”

“I answer to Ironfang law.”