Jolie POV
"The Council knows about you. And they want a meeting."
I should be scared. I should panic. But all I feel is tired. Of course they know. Of course they want something from me. Everyone always does.
"Okay." I wipe sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand. "When?"
Ryder stares at me like I've grown a second head. "That's it? Just okay?"
"What else am I supposed to say?" I lean against the doorframe, my legs still shaking from training. "You'll handle it. You always do."
Something flickers across his face. Pain or guilt. "Jolie"
The cramping hits without warning. Sharp and vicious, it tears through my lower abdomen like claws ripping me open from the inside. I gasp and double over, my hand clutching the doorframe so hard the wood creaks.
"Jolie?" Ryder crosses the ro
