Leila POV
The next morning, we set out at dawn, two black SUVs slicing through the misty forests toward the Council Territory. Kai drives the lead vehicle, his strong hands steady on the wheel, his scent filling the cabin and easing the knot of anxiety in my stomach. I sit beside him in the passenger seat, stealing glances at his sharp profile, the faint tension in his jaw betraying how seriously he’s taking this. In the back, Dax stares out the window in heavy silence, his usual easy humour buries under the weight of Rune’s relentless pull. Kael rides in the second SUV under guard – still prisoner, technically, but “an asset,” as Kai argued last night. I saw the way Dax’s eyes tracked her when she was loaded in, conflicted yet inescapably tethered.
Council Territory unfolds like a forgo
