The door shut with a thud behind them. Hayden walked in first, head lowered, shoulders hunched like he was carrying something heavier than shame. Xander followed with his chin high, defiance rolling off him like smoke. Thorne sat at the head of the table. He leaned back in the chair, arms folded across his chest, his silence deliberate. This was mine to handle. His eyes told me so.
“Sit,” I said. They obeyed, though Hayden did it with the slow weariness of a man used to bending, while Xander sat like he was daring the chair to throw him. The council was quiet, a long table of eyes fixed on them. Paul’s jaw was locked, Kody’s gaze sharp, Jessica tense with healer’s disgust at even needing to share air with them. Melinda sat calmly, but the weight of her attention pressed heavier than the
