EMIRIEL’S POV
The door closed behind Anokai, and the silence that followed felt heavier than it should have. I stood at the window, watching the morning light paint the courtyard in gold, my mind still on her. On the defiance in her eyes when she’d faced Rowan.
On the way she’d pushed back despite the threat, despite the danger.
She was reckless. Foolish. Magnificent.
“She’s going to get herself killed,” Rowan muttered from behind me, breaking the silence. I could hear him pacing, his footsteps heavy with barely restrained violence.
“And when she does, I’m going to enjoy watching.”
“No, you won’t,” Nikolai said, amusement threading through his voice. “You like her too much.”
“I don’t—”
“You do. We all do. That’s the problem.”
I turned from the window, surveying my brothers. Rowan
