LOGINIrene's POV
The war table looked like a butcher's diagram.
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Karson's POVThe forest was different at night.Shadows stretched between the trees like dark fingers. Moonlight filtered through the canopy in scattered patches. Every sound amplified in the stillness. Every rustle of leaves a potential threat.I followed Irene through the darkness. Keeping my footsteps light. Matching her pace exactly.
Irene's POVKen arrived just as the meeting was winding down.His face was grim. The kind of grim that meant bad news. The kind that made my stomach clench before he even opened his mouth."Princess." He gave a quick nod to the elders. "I need to speak with you. Privately."
Irene's POVThe war room felt smaller with everyone crowded inside.Elders filled the seats around the main table. Maps and diagrams spread across every surface. The smell of blood and smoke still lingered on our clothes from the battle hours before.We had won the skirmish. But winning a battle wasn't the same as winning a war.
Karson's POVThe scratches on her arm weren't deep.But they were there. Red lines carved into her skin. Evidence of a fight that could have gone differently. Evidence of my failure.I watched her apply the ointment. Her movements efficient. Practiced. She didn't wince at the sting. Didn't hesitate or fumble.
Irene's POVThe battlefield was still settling when Karson appeared at my side.He moved fast despite his injured leg. Limping across the blood-soaked ground like the wound didn't exist. Like nothing mattered except reaching me."Irene." His voice was rough. Breathless. "Are you hurt? Did they—"
Irene's POVLexie was broken beneath me.Bleeding. Whimpering. Defeated.I shifted back to human form. Stood over her crumpled body. Ready to end this once and for all."It's over, Lexie." My voice came out cold. Flat. "You've lost."
IRENE
“Ugh!” Lexie groaned, throwing a pillow across the room before kicking over a chair. She tangled her hands in her hair, pulling hard as if to punish herself for the news she'd just heard.This was the third time this week she had torn her room apart in frustration
IRENEMy world was crashing but I had no time to crumble with it. I snapped out of it, stepping closer to Ralph and taking him off guard.“We're leaving, now.”Hesitation flashed in his orbs and he started to shake his head, “I can't take you t
IRENEBy the time the guards came, Karson had fallen unconscious again. They handed me a dress and I threw it over my head as they took him from me.My heart gnawed and skin crawled to stay close to him, but I let them take him. My shoulders slumped defeated.Ra







