The council hall was silent now, the weight of its earlier tensions lingering in the air like a storm that had yet to break. Layla slipped through the dimly lit corridors, her heart hammering against her ribs. Every shadow felt like a watchful presence, every distant footstep a reminder of the danger she courted by sneaking away. But she didn’t hesitate. She needed to see him.
Ronan was already waiting when she turned the corner, standing in the narrow alcove where the stone walls barely shielded them from prying eyes. The flickering torchlight played shadows across his sharp features, his golden eyes dark with unreadable emotion. The air between them tightened the moment she stepped closer, suffocating, electric. The bond they had both ignored for so long hummed between them like an unsp
