---
"When you say this," she asked quietly, "do you speak only as Lord of this mountain. Or as someone who has spoken to…."
Kai thought of Ikea's amused eyes and the way she had said it, as if giving away nine hundred trained killers was just another line in a ledger.
"Both," he said. "Last night Mia promised to stay. Stay with her. If the court sends a messenger to drag you back, I will defend you all."
Shock rippled through Yavri's composure, swift and raw.
For all the years she had spent being useful enough to keep, invisible enough to ignore, knowing that nobody cares if they die. But now someone is willing to protect them.
She stood very still for a heartbeat. Then she moved.
Yavri went to her knees.
