Pete’s POV
I knew I had already lost ground the moment Leia said she was leaving. It was not just the words. It was the way she said them. There was no hesitation, no desperation, no plea for me to stop her.
I knew she meant it and I didn’t blame her at all. I had caused all that, and it terrified me more than anything that had happened tonight. I stood there, looking at her, trying to find something to hold onto. Some sign that this could still be turned around. But all I saw was distance, not physical distance.
It was something deeper and something I had created. Derek and Zadok’s voices faded into the background as their suggestion settled in my mind. “Send her away,” they said. “Train her and let her come back stronger.” At first, it sounded like a solution until it started to sound
