Blake POV
I do not take Elle outside the fortress because I trust the world.
I take her outside because the world is already touching her.
That truth settles into me long before I give the order, heavy and unavoidable. The underground stronghold was carved to endure siege, madness, even dragonfire. Its wards have held me together through nights where my father’s leash cut so deep I thought I would snap beneath it.
But walls mean nothing to something that does not need force.
Elle walked without remembering.
Not dragged. Not compelled. Simply guided.
Stone cannot protect against that.
So instead of hiding behind defenses and pretending safety is absolute, I choose ground where no one can lie to themselves about protection. Where every threat must show its face. Where even my brother
