Ayla's POV
The room emptied slowly.
The nurse left first, her quiet "rest" hanging in the air behind her like something meant to hold. The door closed with a soft click—the end of one kind of chaos, the beginning of another kind of quiet.
My hand was still in Ryker's. Neither of us moved to change that.
His thumb traced slow loops over my knuckles—unhurried, undemanding. A language that didn't need words and wasn't asking for any.
Kael stood against the far wall, arms crossed, having watched the nurse work without speaking. I could feel his anger through the bond—controlled, buried beneath layers of composure, but burning underneath all of it. He remained steady, cold, and patient, a demeanor that was more frightening than heat.
Soren stood beside him, rolling his shoulders once, the
