The wind tore through the trees like a whispering warning, but I didn’t flinch. Not anymore.
Ryker stood beside me, shoulders tense, his body angled protectively in front of mine. His scent—familiar now, anchoring—wrapped around me like armor. But it wasn’t his presence that had my heart hammering.
It was the man standing ten paces away, partially cloaked in shadow, amber eyes locked on mine with a feral intensity that felt carved from another world.
“Kael,” I said, voice low. My fingers twitched toward the blade at my thigh.
He didn’t move. Didn’t blink. “You’ve grown,” he said, voice rough and weathered, like gravel dragged across the steel. “You look like her.”
“Don’t,” I snapped, heat flaring in my chest. “You don’t get to talk about her.”
He took a step forward, and Ryker growle
