LILAI didn’t go back to my room. I walked past the hallway guards, past the east corridor, past the Luna’s garden with the ivy-covered trellis and broken lanterns still hanging from the last celebration. I didn’t stop until I reached the training field, where the dummies stood untouched in the sun,
LILAI’d gone out to clear my head. I didn’t care where my boots took me. The sun was high, but the woods felt cold, shaded by the twisting trees and the heavy silence. Leaves clung to the soles of my shoes, and I kept walking until I forgot why I was even out there. I needed the ache of motion to d
LILAI’d gone out to clear my head. I didn’t care where my boots took me. The sun was high, but the woods felt cold, shaded by the twisting trees and the heavy silence. Leaves clung to the soles of my shoes, and I kept walking until I forgot why I was even out there. I needed the ache of motion to d
“Just that?” I asked, keeping my tone light.He shrugged. “That, and a little bit of luck. They left just enough to find them.”“Strange they’d be that careless.”He didn’t reply.Tyler had turned back to the scroll I gave him, making light notes in the margin, not catching the way Thomas’s eyes mov
LILAI wasn’t intentionally eavesdropping.I had the scout reports in my hand and I was headed for the war room, same as always. I thought they’d be done by now, Tyler never let strategy meetings drag past noon but I heard voices before I reached the door.Tyler’s voice came first, low and even, the
Tyler hadn’t moved but his eyes had changed and they were all on me.I walked toward him slowly. He sat back in his chair but didn’t shift away, his hands still resting on the arms, fingers curled slightly, like he was waiting.I reached the desk, leaned forward, and pushed a stack of ledgers to the