Kaelira’s POV
The room didn’t feel the same after the whole thing. It wasn’t the walls or the people. It was me.
Something had shifted and it hadn’t settled back. Not even close. I walked out before anyone could stop me. Before anyone could speak. Before I had to feel their eyes on me again.
Judging, measuring and waiting for me to break.
My steps didn’t slow until I reached the corridor outside the council chamber.
The air was cooler here, quieter but it didn’t calm anything inside me. If anything, it made it louder. My pulse hadn’t steadied.
Not fully.
And the energy beneath my skin… It hadn’t faded. It lingered.
Low, restless and waiting.
I exhaled slowly, pressing my fingers against the wall beside me, grounding myself in something solid.
Control, I needed control.
But
