POV: Kael
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By the time we made it back to the lodge, the wind had turned mean.
Snow spat sideways through the pines, rattling shutters that hadn’t creaked in years. I carried Aria in my arms, her face tucked into my throat, her breath hot where it ghosted over my pulse. She wasn’t unconscious — not exactly — but she’d left a part of herself out there at the Circle.
Maybe I had too.
Behind us, Ashen herded what was left of our enforcers. Lira stayed just out of reach, eyes locked on the mark still burning low over my heart. She smelled of fresh fear — not for herself but for what we might bring down on them next.
When I pushed open the lodge doors, the elders rose like a flock of startled crows. I didn’t meet their eyes. I just crossed the main hall and laid Aria down on the long tab
