LILAThe west wing archives were colder than I remembered.Dominic led me through the hall without ceremony, past shelves lined with dust-heavy tomes and crates of unfiled reports that smelled like mildew and dried ink. The walls were bare here—no Pack crests, no portraits. Just stone, cold and quie
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