“Annabel!”
Zane’s voice echoed behind me, cutting through the swirl of confusion in my mind. I hadn’t gotten far from the council hall barely enough distance to clear my head—before he caught up to me.
His footsteps were heavy, urgent, matching the frustration tightening his jaw when I turned to face him.
“Tell me you’re not actually going along with this,” he said, breathless.
I clenched my fists, trying to steady the storm rising inside me. “I don’t have a choice.”
Zane stepped closer, his eyes blazing with disbelief. “You always have a choice. This? This is madness, Annabel! Elijah’s pushing us straight into a fight we can’t win.”
I swallowed hard, the weight of his words sinking into me. He was right. Elijah’s recklessness was a disaster waiting to happen, but the truth I didn’t
