Soren's POV
I knew she was back before I heard her.
Before the floorboards shifted beneath her steps or the faint movement of air in the hallway gave her away. Before her scent reached me or the bond tugged at the edge of my awareness.
The bond felt different now—quieter, settled in a way it hadn't been all morning. Not pulling the way it did when she was far.
"She's here," Blaze murmured, something satisfied moving through his voice.
I was already on my feet, my body taut with a tension I couldn't name.
Kael had told us to give her space. Ryker had barely agreed to it, but he had—we all had, because it was the only way any of this had a chance of working. But knowing she was here, just down the hall, a few doors away, made it considerably harder than I'd expected.
"She didn't leave
