"Sometimes letting go isn't weakness it's trust. And trust is the only bond stronger than fear."
Breakfast, it seemed, had become my battlefield as the long table was crowded Marcus beside me, stoic as always, Gavriel and Rell elbowing each other like boys at a feast, Silas sipping tea with all the judgment of a thousand lifetimes, Lord Riven Ostel leaning back with his boots on the chair next to him, and Niko perched primly at the end, radiating smugness.
And me, the poor fool caught in the middle, and finally Niko rose with her cup of tea as though she had been rehearsing this all morning. "My king," she began in her infuriatingly calm voice, "you must let Elias go."
A silence fell so sharply it nearly rang. Gavriel froze mid-bite, Rell's fork clattered against his plate, and even Marcus lifted his brow in warning.
I blinked. "Excuse me?"
Niko gestured serenely with her tea. "Send him back to Roan Ridge. With Taemin and the rest of the wolves that came along with him."
