Elara’s POV
The war council ended at midnight.
Maps were rolled up. Strategies debated. The pack would meet the Hollow in the valley at dawn in three days. I would track his movements, warn of flanking parties. It was a good plan. It had to be.
But my mind wasn’t on the plan. It was on Dorian. On the way he had looked at me during the meeting. On the way he had said Elara will track his movements with absolute certainty, as if he had no doubt I would succeed.
Everyone else had filed out. Finn was speaking with Mira near the door. Dorian stood by the fireplace, staring into the flames. I should have gone to bed. Instead, I lingered near the stairs, pretending to adjust my boot.
That’s when Kael walked in.
He hadn’t been at the council. He wasn’t a warrior anymore, hadn’t been since th
