RAVENNA
The camp had gone still, only the crackle of distant fire and the occasional murmur of voices lingered in the night air. The moonlight stretched long shadows across the ground, turning Kael’s figure into something darker, sharper, as he stepped toward me.
He turned to my approach, the faintest smile tugging at his lips. “You’ve been trying to talk to me all day.”
“What were you trying to say?” he asked, his voice low but steady, as though he’d been holding the question inside for hours.
I hesitated, my fingers twisting together. I had been trying to tell him all day, but somehow, between Iris hanging off his arm and pulling him away, it had felt impossible. Now that I had his attention, my throat wanted to close up.
“Can we go somewhere more private?” I asked quietly. “It’s… i
