The words landed like a blade dropped between them, and for one suspended moment, I watched every ounce of fragile trust I'd spent the last hour building threaten to collapse back into raw suspicion.
Wyers was on his feet instantly, his expression hardening into the flat, calculating mask of a commander recalculating threats in real time. "A dozen riders, moving openly, in Lycan colors, arriving mere hours after a Lycan Princess stumbles into my territory." His eyes cut toward me, sharp enough to draw blood. "You'll forgive me if the timing doesn't inspire confidence in your story."
"I didn't lead them here," I said, rising as well despite the exhaustion dragging at my limbs, keeping my voice level though my pulse had already begun to race. "I have no way to summon riders from a forest r
