The guards shove me through heavy iron doors into blinding daylight. My knees hit dirt, chains falling away as one of them unlocks the manacles with rough efficiency. "Leave, rogue," he spits, tossing the keys to another guard. "You aren't welcome here." Blood trickles from my split lip, the taste of copper sharp on my tongue.
Two days of interrogation have left their marks, but nothing hurts like the knowledge of what's happening to Lora inside those walls, what she's sacrificing for our daughter and me.
"Gladly," I manage through gritted teeth, pushing myself to my feet.
I don't spare another glance at the Council compound. Instead, I step toward the tree line, my body already humming with the need to shift, to run, to find my daughter before it's too late. The moment I'm hidden among
