Isla made her way down the twisting halls of the pack house, her footsteps hesitant, as if each step was a question she couldn't find the answer to. The weight of Larkin's words pressed on her chest: "Kael put Emily on the warfront, and she barely survived. Riley had to step in.
A knot of guilt twisted in her stomach. She didn't understand either why Kael had done that or what part she played in this mess, and she couldn't let it fester. Ahead of her now loomed the door to Emily's room; it opened a crack. The scent of lavender and stale anger billowed out into the hallway, merging with the more distant crackle of the hearth from downstairs.
She wavered, her hand hovering only inches from the doorframe, before tapping gently. "Emily? It's Isla. Can I come in?"
The response came instant
