Chapter 22
Zeraphine’s POV
I barely made it halfway through my plate when I felt it again—the weight of his stare. Draven hadn’t looked away, and it was making my skin prickle.
Why is he staring at me like that? I wondered, keeping my eyes on my plate.
“He’s watching because he doesn’t understand you,” my wolf, Ata, whispered in my mind, her voice soft but firm. “Let him wonder. You’re stronger than he thinks.”
Ata had been silent for most of these past weeks, and her sudden presence filled me with warmth.
Strong? I don’t feel strong, I thought back, pushing a piece of bread around my plate.
“You are,” she insisted. “Look how far you’ve come. They’re waiting for you to fall, but you won’t. And Draven... he doesn’t scare me.”
I almost laughed out loud at her confidence. Well, he sca
