Soren's POV
My brothers go with what they know.
Ryker fixes what's immediate—finds the problem, addresses it, and moves before doubt can catch up with him. Kael controls what he can—thinks it through, acts with purpose, and keeps everything measured.
I'm neither of those things.
I'm the one who watches. The one who notices the small things nobody else slows down enough to see—the way her gaze flickers before she shuts it down, the way her hands settle on something and then release it like she's remembering she doesn't get to keep things, the way she holds herself like a secret she's not entirely sure she's allowed to be.
Ayla stood between us, but not with us. There was a distinction there, and I didn't think either of my brothers had quite felt it yet.
The notebook was still in her
