Chapter Six
Amara found her voice before he found his next question, and used it to buy herself a little time.
“Not here,” she said, low, glancing past his shoulder at the board members who hadn’t yet noticed the two of them frozen a few feet apart. “Please. Not here.”
Rafael’s jaw tightened. Every instinct in him wanted to push. But Kael was still tugging at his bow tie, still in the dark, five years old and hungry in a room full of adults speaking a language he had zero interest in.
“Fine,” Rafael said. “Not here.” He said it like a promise, not an acceptance, and she caught the difference right away.
“Mom.” Kael’s voice cut through. “Can we get food now?”
“In a minute.” Her hand found his shoulder, steady even though nothing else about her felt steady at all. She looked back at Ra
