Kael’s POV
The council chamber always felt colder than the rest of the fortress.
Not because of the stone.
Because of the people inside it.
The moment I stepped through the heavy doors, I felt it settle over me. That familiar weight of silence, expectation, and something far more calculated beneath it. The elders were already seated, their expressions composed, their eyes far too aware.
Waiting.
They always made it feel like a trial.
Tonight was no different.
Elara stepped in just behind me.
I felt her before I looked at her.
The bond stirred instantly, low and steady beneath my collarbone, reacting to her proximity like it had a will of its own. It was becoming harder to ignore. Harder to control.
Dangerously so.
“Sit,” Elder Marrow said.
Not a request.
A command.
I didn’t
