CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
I stepped out of the tent, and a guard nodded for me to move a few steps behind a podium.
“You okay?” Kai was next to me in a heartbeat, his hand finding my elbow.
I looked over his face. He was tired. He was tense, but he was alert. I recognized the other look in his eyes. He was hunting. He was my father’s predator, and I swear, a part of my heart swelled, though it shouldn’t have.
I nodded, feeling everything from my chest down go numb. I no longer wanted to feel. “I’m good.” I nodded again, firming my shoulders, raising my chin. “I’m ready.”
He stared at me, a full five beats before his hand fell to mine. “Good.” He moved to stand beside me, facing where my father stood.
He was talking to another couple, an older man and woman. My cousin was beside him, her arm
