"Some bonds defy crowns and courts; they burn too bright to be hidden behind iron gates."
Elias's POV
The gates of the Northern Shifter Kingdom loomed ahead like the mouth of some ancient beast, tall and wrought from black iron, their design twisted into snarling wolves and runes older than most empires. If I were not trying so hard to look cool and unbothered, I might have admitted it was intimidating. But I am Elias Blackthorne. Snark is my armor, and sarcasm is my sword. Behind me, my so-called entourage shifted like restless shadows. Juno was humming some ridiculous tune, Nyra already looked like she was calculating the best places to throw a body if this went sideways, Dr. Morrin scribbled notes in his leather-bound book (he'd been jotting things down ever since we crossed the border trees, stones, possibly the way I breathed), and Riv was Riv, silent and stoic, like an entire fortress crammed into one man.
