Chapter 89
Third POV
The silence that followed their return was heavier than anything the Tribunal had imposed.
It settled into Gabriella’s bones, into the spaces between heartbeats, into the fragile seams holding the realms together. The sky above them was blue. Ordinary. Almost mocking in its calm.
Tristan did not release her.
His arms were tight around her shoulders, fire subdued but coiled, as if his body had decided that letting go was no longer an option. Leo stood a pace away, lightning flickering erratically as his control wavered for the first time in years. Mark’s jaw was clenched, one hand pressed flat against the earth, grounding himself against a tremor only he seemed to feel.
Rhael stared at nothing.
“They didn’t come to negotiate,” he said finally, voice flat. “They c
