"I know," Ethan said. "But it still didn't feel like enough."
Ardis looked over at him, her expression calm. Then she asked, quietly, "Who do you want to protect?"
He didn't answer right away. That question landed deeper than he expected.
He looked at her, then glanced away.
She didn't repeat it. Didn't press him. She just let it hang there.
His thoughts weren't loud. Just steady.
He thought of Lilith. Of his sisters. Of the Moonshade twins. Even Ardis, in a quiet way. But this wasn't about who he cared about. It was deeper than that.
It was about who he'd step in front of when things went wrong.
Who would he take the hit for?
Who he'd fight for, no matter what it cost him.
He didn't say anything out loud.
But something in his face shifted. His eyes steadied.
Ardis noticed.
"You don't have to know right away," she said gently. "But once you do—that's when your strength will stop being something you just have, and start becoming something you use."
