The clearing was too quiet. The scent of blood still clung to the air, sharp and metallic, mixing with the lingering tang of smoke. The pack had dragged the bodies of the fallen rogues to the edge of the forest, where the flames would purify what was left of them. But the silence wasn’t peace — it was tension, stretched so tight that Aria felt it in her bones.
She stood a few feet from the firelight, hugging her arms around herself as if she could hold back the weight pressing down on her chest. Every pair of eyes that passed over her felt like an accusation.
Killian emerged from the shadows, shirtless and bloodied, his jaw locked tight. He had refused help when the others tried to tend his wounds, brushing them off with a clipped, “See to the others first.” Now, as he approached her, sh
