-Julien Grayson:
I didn't even realize I had taken a step forward until my voice came out, a little too quick, a little too desperate.
"I'm gonna walk him to the borders."
The words felt heavier than they should have, like they carried something underneath them that I wasn't ready to name. The room went quiet for a second, the kind of quiet that presses against your ears, and before Ezra could even react, Pops cut in sharply.
"Yeah, I'll go with you."
I turned my head toward him immediately, the refusal already sitting on my tongue before I could even think it through.
"No."
It came out firmer than I expected, sharper. Pops' brows pulled together slightly, not used to being spoken to like that, not by me. My chest tightened, but I didn't back down.
"I don't want you to come with me. I'll go alone with him, it's not like it's my first time walking to the borders."
