Back at the Hayes estate, tension rippled through the walls.
Lex met with Eleanor, Nathaniel and Darius in the war room.
“She’s fully tethered,” Lex said. “The illusion will hold. Ezra won’t know it’s a projection unless he tries to touch her.”
“And Mira?” Darius asked.
Eleanor frowned. “We sense her movements. She’s near, but never long enough to pinpoint.”
Lex turned toward the map. “Then we prepare for Ezra. But we assume Mira will strike during the chaos.”
Nathaniel folded his arms. “So we fight two wars with one blade.”
“No,” Eleanor said. “We let Ezra think he’s won, and we save our sharpest edge for the one lurking in his shadow.”
Night deepened.
Liora sat alone, staring at her hands.
The pain was gone.
The fear wasn’t.
But the rage had settled into something quieter.
P
