Chapter 35
The decision isn’t spoken.
It settles.
Rowan feels it first — the moment the city stops needing him to hold it together. Zainab’s work has taken root. The balance no longer depends on force.
Which means there is no excuse left.
“You know what this means,” Rowan says quietly as they stand within the old boundary circle — neutral ground that once belonged to elders long gone.
Zainab nods. Her face is calm, but her eyes hold something ancient and awake.
“Yes,” she says. “It means we stop pretending this can stay unfinished.”
Vargan rises within Rowan — not dominant, not restless.
Reverent.
This is the only way she stays untouched, the wolf says. Marked by choice, not command.
Rowan exhales slowly. “If we do this… there’s no hierarchy in it. No cage.”
Zainab steps closer
