Asher’s POV
Three days.
Three long, relentless days, and she still hadn’t left my damn head.
I sat at the head of the council table, its aged oak surface scarred from years of meetings like this one. Voices surrounded me—blurred, distant. The scent of burning wood drew in through the open window. Tangled with the rather damp musk of earth.
Maps lay sprawled across the table, borders inked in thick strokes—old, new, disputed.
“…if we extend past the northern ridge, we’ll secure better access to the river.”
Drake. Steady. Methodical. Always thinking five steps ahead.
I nodded—barely processing his words. My gaze dragged over the map, lingering on the jagged curve that cut close to Ellara’s woods.
I’d been there.
Almost every night since I carried her out of those trees.
Untamed lan
