Ch. 196..200: A Warrior Luna's Awakening Chapter 196-200
Chapter 196
Caelum handed her the device recovered at the scene. Her hands shook as she pulled up the feeds. Though the stream itself had been shut down, dozens of clips already flooded the nets, each one a shard of humiliation.
On the screen she saw herself-tear-streaked, pleading, then crumbling as she confessed. Yes, I left him. I couldn’t save him. The words echoed, merciless, her own voice damning her.
Aurora’s face blanched, her pulse thundering in her ears.
No. No, this couldn’t be her life. She had been the hero, the savior, the pilot the packs adored. Now comment after comment scrolled beneath the clips:
“What hero? She’s a coward.”
“A murderer, not a savior.”
“Bluemoon should ground her permanently.”
“If the fire had taken her instead, it would’ve been justice.”
Her hands shook so violently she dropped the device. It clattered across the floor, the feed still running, her name drowned in curses.
Her wolf whimpered in panic. She had lived her life basking in praise, in deference. Never had she tasted public scorn. Now the same voices that once worshipped her were howling for her downfall.
“No…” she rasped, stumbling back against the pillows. “No, this isn’t how it ends. I won’t—”
Her breath broke into sobs. She reached blindly for Caelum, clutching his sleeve. “Delete it. Please. All of it. You have influence-Silverfang still answers to you. Bury this for me, Caelum. I can’t—”
Caelum’s features hardened. “The storm is too high. Even I can’t silence every voice. In time the flames will cool, but for now, nothing can erase it.”
Her lips moved soundlessly, then she whispered like a chant, “It will fade… it has to fade. When the heat dies down, they’ll forget. I’ll still be their pilot. I’ll still be admired.”
She spoke as if trying to weave a spell, to convince herself.
“Rest, Aurora,” Caelum said, pulling his arm free. “The healers need you calm. I must return to the enforcers and give my account.”
He turned, but she caught his hand again, her nails digging into his skin. “Caelum-listen to me. What they saw, what I said… it wasn’t the truth. I lied. I only said those things to pacify him. You believe me, don’t you?”
Her eyes gleamed with a desperate, feral edge. She clung to him like a drowning wolf to driftwood, her voice fevered.
Caelum looked down at her, torn. His wolf stirred uneasily. He wanted to believe, wanted to hold onto the image of the woman he had once defended against all odds. But the echo of her confession, the raw terror in her voice when she spoke it, weighed heavy in his cars.
Chapter 197
Third Person’s POV
+20 Free Coins
Aurora’s voice trembled, but her words carried a desperate sharpness that filled the sterile air of the infirmary.
“Caelum, you have to believe me,” she insisted, struggling upright against the crisp white sheets. “Everything I said during that broadcast-it wasn’t the truth. I only said those things to appease the kidnapper, to survive!”
Caelum stood at the foot of her bed, silent. The Alpha of the Silverfang Pack had faced insurgents across borders, negotiated with hostile coalitions, and crushed dissent in boardrooms at SilverTech Forgeworks. Yet in this moment, confronted with the woman who clung to him as if he were her last tether, he felt only a grim heaviness settling into his bones.
Because he knew she was lying.
Her words during the live stream had not sounded like a performance. They had not borne the cadence of a woman trying to coax her way free. No-the way her voice cracked, the way her composure shattered, the slip of her tongue that had cut too clean… it had been the truth breaking loose.
For a long stretch of silence, his gaze rested on her pale face. He could see the flicker of panic tightening her jaw the longer he withheld his answer.
Aurora’s eyes narrowed, her tone sharpening. “You don’t believe me, do you?”
Caelum exhaled slowly, pressing his lips into a tight line. His wolf stirred uneasily, torn between logic and loyalty. “Aurora,” he said at last, his voice low, heavy, “even if you did… even if you once failed, I have no right to condemn you. You saved me once. That debt remains. And I will help you.”
It was not absolution, but it was a vow.
For she had once dragged him, bloodied and half-conscious, out of a wreckage when no one else dared. She had been his salvation, his anchor in that chaos. That memory chained him to her, whether he liked it
or not.
Yet instead of relief, Aurora shoved him away with a sudden burst of strength. Her fingers clenched the sheets, her chest rising and falling with raw fury.
“You don’t believe me!” she cried, eyes flashing with the feverish glow of her wolf. “Caelum, I thought even if the whole world turned against me, you would stand by my side. But now-you doubt me too!”
Her words pierced deeper than she knew. Caelum gave a bitter smile, one corner of his mouth twisting. Believe you? How can I, when the truth already clawed its way out?
But he said nothing of it.
Instead, he spoke with the weary pragmatism of an Alpha who had seen the court of public opinion devour many before her. “Even if I believe you, will others? You’ve seen it yourself-the comments, the outery. The packs are baying for blood.”
Aurora’s face drained of color. Her hands tightened on the blanket until her knuckles blanched. Then, with
1/8
12:50 pm Pppp.
Chapter 197
+20 Free Coins
stubborn defiance, she lifted her chin. “Let them curse me. Let them spit my name into the dirt. I don’t care what they think. As long as you believe me, Caelum, nothing else matters.”
Her voice cracked, but her eyes gleamed with a strange light. She had gambled and lost in front of the world, and now her wolf knew only one path forward: cling to her strongest card. Cling to him.
“If you don’t believe me…” Her voice dropped, soft and trembling, but edged with calculation. “Then sever us. Pretend we never stood together. Let me fall alone. I won’t beg you again.”
Caelum’s chest tightened. The words cut deep, dragging guilt into his marrow. He saw the shimmer of moisture in her eyes, the vulnerable curve of her lips trembling as if she were already preparing for abandonment.
And he broke.
“Forgive me, Aurora,” he murmured, voice rough, pained. He stepped forward, taking her hand once more, holding it tightly as though that grip could anchor them both. “I do believe you. I should never have doubted. I trust you.”
Whether or not it was true no longer mattered. His wolf, bound by instinct and memory, had made its choice.
Aurora’s tears dried instantly, replaced with a smile that bloomed fragile and radiant across her face. She leaned into his hand, her wolf purring with triumph. “I knew I didn’t choose wrong. With you beside me, I can face anything.”
Caelum forced a smile, though unease coiled like smoke in his chest. The storm brewing beyond these walls would not relent because of his faith. And he could not shake the creeping doubt: Would his presence truly be enough to shield her from the tide of truth?
Night deepened over the Capital.
Freya sat curled on the leather couch of her apartment, her WolfComm glowing in her hand. Her eyes racked the flood of news spreading like wildfire across the networks.
Aurora’s kidnapping had climbed to the top of the global feed. The Fire Commission had released a formal statement: they would reopen investigation into the Border Fire. Deepmoor City-the very
tronghold that had once honored Aurora with the title of “Hero of the Flames”-now announced an inquiry into whether that honor had been built on falsehood.
Bluemoon Airborne Wing had already acted. Aurora was suspended from duty as vice-captain. Her future with the unit would hinge on the outcome of the investigation.
And worse-audience-shot footage from the talk show carlier that evening had begun to spread.
One clip showed Aurora, radiant under the studio lights, announcing before the world that she was bound to Caelum Grafton as his chosen mate, his future Luna.
Another captured her being cornered by the host, fumbling to explain her so-called heroics in the Border Fire, only to be confronted by other rescuers who had been there. The revelation that she had never even reached the site of the trapped civilians had drawn audible gasps.
The interner tore her apart.
2/3
12:50 pm
Chapter 197
“Fraud.”
“Not a hero. A coward.”
“If Bluemoon lets her keep that post, I’ll never fly their wings again.”
“She should feel the same fire she let others die in.”
+20 Free Coins
Freya scrolled through them silently. A mixture of cold satisfaction and lingering bitterness swirled in her chest. Once, Aurora had basked in untouchable glory, upheld by every pack’s praise. Now, in a single night, she had plummeted from the sky she claimed as her own.
“Still awake?”
A deep, rough voice brushed against her ear.
Arms slipped around her waist from behind, drawing her back into a chest broad and solid as iron. Silas’s presence filled the room like stormclouds, his scent dark and grounding, his breath warm against the curve of her neck.
Freya stiffened slightly, only for her wolf to betray her by leaning into the comfort. The Alpha of the Ironclad Coalition had always been like this-unyielding steel wrapped in quiet heat, relentless in the way he anchored her.
The word rose unbidden in her mind: intimate.
The WolfComm rang sharply, fracturing the moment. The caller’s name lit the screen.
Kade Blackridge.
Her younger brother in arms, the one who had always hovered on the edges of her life like a restless shadow.
Freya reached to answer, but Silas’s hand caught hers, his thumb pressing lightly against her wrist. “Don’t.” His voice rasped, thick with possessive warning.
She huffed out a laugh, soft and incredulous, shaking her head as she pressed the call through anyway.
“Freya.” Kade’s voice carried across the line, taut with concern. “Tell me straight. Are you really… involved with Silas Whitmor?”
Chapter 198
Freya’s POV
+20 Free Coins
The moment I admitted it aloud-that I was truly seeing Silas -I could almost feel Kade’s silence hanging like a weight through the WolfComm line.
“Yes. It’s true,” I said firmly, not giving myself the option of retreat.
For a moment there was nothing but the faint crackle of the signal, and my heart twisted with unease. “Kade?” I asked softly.
Freya… -” His voice caught, a low rumble of frustration and something else. But before he could finish, a sharp breath escaped my lips.
Because Silas had leaned down and pressed his mouth against the curve of my ear.
His lips were hot, brushing lightly against my ear lobe. His breath skimmed over my neck, sending a shiver all the way down my spine. The touch burned and tickled at once, like an Alpha testing a sensitive bond- mark.
‘Freya…” Silas’s voice was low, rasping, vibrating against my skin. “How long are you going to keep talking? It’s late. Time to join me in bed.”
Kade’s growl crackled through the phone, sharp enough to make my wolf bristle. “He’s there. Silas is with you, isn’t he?”
“Yes,” I admitted, swallowing. “He’s right here. Why? What were you trying to say?”
The line went dead a moment later. Just like that, Kade was gone. He’d called only to ask that? Only to confirm what he already knew? I lowered the WolfComm slowly, staring at the darkened screen. That boy… what was he really trying to tell me?
“What are you thinking about?” Silas’s voice cut into my thoughts again, thicker now, edged with something possessive. He plucked the device neatly from my hand and set it on the low table, out of reach. Then, with a deliberate roll of his shoulders, he caged me between his body and the sofa cushions.
“Nothing.” I shifted, flustered. “I was just on the call with Kade and then you suddenly-kissed me like that. He probably heard… it’s embarrassing.”
A wolfish smirk tugged at his lips. “Do you dislike it?” His mouth was already on my ear again, tracing it with soft, teasing kisses that made my skin prickle with heat.
That sensation-sharp, sweet, maddening-spread like wildfire. My cheeks burned. I tried to push him away, but he moved with me, a predator yielding only to trap its prey more effectively. One of his strong arms curled around my waist, and with a sudden shift, I found myself sprawled across his chest, breathless.
His obsidian eyes fixed on me, unwavering. “Do you hate it?” His voice was no longer teasing. I could feel the tension in the hand at my waist, rigid, as if bracing for my rejection.
My wolf stilled. He was bracing himself. For me.
I swallowed, then forced a cool smile. “And if I did?” I countered. A small sting of mischief in my words-1
1/2
12:50 pm Pppp.
Chapter 198
wanted to make him pay for that interruption.
+20 Free Coins
But the light in his gaze dimmed instantly. The black shimmer of his eyes dulled, lashes lowering, his entire face shadowing with a self-mocking gloom. “If you hated it… then I won’t do it again.”
My chest tightened. The raw honesty in his tone, the flicker of vulnerability in a man who was Alpha to an entire coalition-it twisted something deep inside me.
“Freya,” he whispered, not as the Ironclad Alpha but as a man stripped bare. “Don’t hate me. Please.”
Something ached in me then. “I don’t hate you,” I murmured, my fingers brushing his cheek, wanting to erase the shadow from it. “Not you, not what you just did. It’s only… embarrassing. That’s all.”
His eyes lifted, alight again, a flare of wildfire in the dark. “So you don’t hate it.”
“No,” I breathed. “Not at all.” I leaned down, close enough that he could feel my lips ghosting his ear. “It only….. tickles. I’m not used to it.”
And then, on impulse, I mirrored his earlier teasing. I caught the curve of his ear lobe between my lips and kissed it gently.
The effect was immediate. The mighty Alpha of Ironclad stiffened beneath me, a tremor running through his frame. His ear flushed crimson, and to my astonishment, even his cheeks burned with color.
“Freya…” His voice cracked into a husky growl, his breath ragged. His eyes-those dark, alluring eyes- gleamed with a dangerous shine, like a predator fighting restraint.
I froze, realizing what I had unleashed. Silas Whitmor, pinned beneath me, looked devastatingly beautiful in that moment. The heat in his gaze could melt steel, and yet he trembled, undone by the smallest kiss.
Goddess help me, I hadn’t meant to fall into this snare. I’d only wanted him to understand how it felt-but now I was the one caught, trapped by his voice, his eyes, the sheer raw pull of him.
Did he not realize what he was doing to me?
That night, I had to summon every ounce of restraint I possessed to keep from surrendering to the instinct clawing at both our wolves. It wasn’t about being unmarried-I had long stopped clinging to that human notion. No, it was about certainty. I wanted to know my feelings weren’t born of heat or impulse. I wanted them to be real, solid, unshakable.
Silas seemed to sense it. And though desire burned in his eyes, he only gathered me against him, his arm around my waist as we lay side by side. His breath stirred my hair as he whispered, low and raw, “Freya, I love you. I’ll wait until you love me too. And when you do…. you’ll want me. Won’t you?”
He sounded almost boyish then, like a wolf begging for his mate’s acceptance. For the first time, I saw the side of Silas Whitmor no one else in the Ironclad Coalition would ever imagine-the side that could cling, that could crave, that could love.
And it undid me.
Chapter 199
Freya’s POV
+20 Free Coins
The next morning, we left for the Stormveil outskirts. There was an old Thorne estate, long abandoned in the shadow of the Runestone Grounds, and I needed to see it with my own eyes.
Silas insisted on driving. I didn’t argue. Part of me wanted him there, even if it meant facing the ghosts of my family’s past with his presence a steady anchor beside me.
By the time we reached the little town, the sun hung just past its peak, and my stomach gave a small growl. It was almost noon.
I glanced at Silas, his profile sharp in the light streaming through the windshield. “Would you be able to stomach something from a small tavern here? The food’s not fancy-just local fare.”
He turned his head, his dark eyes steady. “Food is food, Freya. There were days when I ate nothing at all. Compared to that, even stale bread was a feast. I’m not picky.”
His words pulled at something inside me, but I didn’t dwell on it. “There’s a place I used to visit often,” I said, my voice softer now. “Every time we came into town, my family and I would eat there. I don’t even know if it’s still open.”
The word family caught in my throat, twisting bitterly. Once, it had been the four of us-Mother, Father, Eric, me. Now… only me.
I forced a smile that didn’t quite reach my eyes.
“Then we’ll go,” Silas said, his tone leaving no room for argument. “I’ll go with you.”
I blinked, surprised at how easily he said it. For a moment, my wolf stirred, brushing against his Alpha aura. Maybe I wasn’t going alone after all.
The car rolled to a stop in front of the tavern, and to my shock, it looked almost exactly as it had five years ago. Weathered wood, faded paint, but alive. A place caught in time.
The owner stood at the doorway, his face older, lines carved deeper by the seasons. But his eyes brightened as they landed on me. “Freya Thorne. Goddess, it’s been years. How have you been, girl?”
“I’ve been… well enough.” I managed a small smile.
“And your parents? Your brother? They didn’t come with you?” His question was innocent, but it pierced straight through me.
My smile faltered, the air leaving my lungs for a heartbeat. “Not this time,” I said quietly. “I came back alone just to take care of some things.”
“Oh His voice softened with understanding. He gestured toward the tables. “Come, sit. Let me get you a
menu,”
I slid into a booth with Silas across from me. As I settled, I noticed his gaze shift, caught by the far wall.
There, dozens of photographs were pinned haphazardly, forming a collage of memories. The faded
1/3
12:50 pm P ppp.
Chapter 199
+20 Free Coins
Polaroids showed people laughing, clinking glasses, posing with plates of food. A ritual of sorts, a way to mark their presence.
“It’s a tradition,” I explained. “Patrons take a photo before they leave. It becomes part of the tavern’s memory.”
His eyes lingered. “And yours?”
I lifted my hand and pointed to a corner. My voice softened unconsciously. “Right there. That’s me. And beside me… my brother, Eric.”
Silas’s body went rigid, so faintly that perhaps anyone else would have missed it. But I didn’t. His face didn’t move, but the shift in his energy was unmistakable-like a ripple in still water.
“That’s your brother?” His voice was low.
“Yes.” I smiled faintly, unaware of his reaction. “We don’t look alike, do we? I have my father’s features. He had our mother’s face. But we were inseparable.”
Silas’s gaze burned into the image. Eric Thorne, tall and clean-cut, eyes sharp with a quiet strength. My chest tightened with memory.
The owner came back, setting menus down. “Have you chosen yet?”
I shook myself from the past and reached for the card. “Not yet.” I glanced across at Silas. “What about you? Anything stand out?”
But he wasn’t looking at the menu. His eyes were still pinned to the photograph, expression unreadable.
“Silas?” I raised my voice slightly.
He blinked, as though surfacing from somewhere deep. “What?”
“You’re pale. Are you not feeling well?”
“Fine,” he said quickly. Too quickly. “Perhaps I didn’t sleep enough last night.”
I tilted my head, unconvinced. But I let it go. For now. His hand, resting on the table, was tight, knuckles pale.
I pushed the menu toward him. “At least choose something.”
“You order,” he said. “I don’t know what’s best here.”
So I did Dishes I’d shared with my parents, with Eric, long ago. My voice cracked once, but I forced steadiness as the owner scribbled them down and left.
The silence that followed pressed heavy. Then Silas spoke, his words deliberate. “You and your brother… were you close?”
My heart squeezed. I lifted my eyes to the photograph again. “Yes. Closer than anyone. That picture… it was the last time we ate here together. A silly moment, posing for fun. But it turned into our last picture.”
The memory dragged me back, vivid as a scent trail. Eric Laughing, his arm thrown around my shoulder/3
12:50 pm Pppp. рррр.
Chapter 199
calling me little wolf. His scent always carried steel and cedar, sharp but safe.
+20 Free Coins
“After that day, he returned to the Capital. Soon after, he was deployed to the borderlands.” My throat tightened. “He was always protecting me. When we were cubs, if anyone tried to bully me, he fought back, even if he was smaller. He’d take the bruises, the scolding-never let me stand alone. He used to say, ‘No one touches my sister. Not while I’m breathing.””
A wet laugh escaped me, shaky but real. My eyes blurred. “He was a good brother. The best.”
Silas’s voice was quiet, almost reverent. “Yes. He sounds like one.”
I swiped at my eyes quickly, forcing a smile. “When I find him, I’ll introduce you. You’ll like him. Everyone did.”
Silas’s lips pressed tight. He said nothing more. But his hand beneath the table had curled into a fist, and for the first time since I’d known him, I smelled a thread of nervousness in his scent.
Chapter 200
Third Person’s POV
+20 Free Coins
Silas lowered his gaze, unwilling to let Freya see the flicker of recognition that had unsettled him the moment her words touched on her brother. There were things he needed to be sure of. If Eric Thorne- the lost heir of Stormveil’s Fifth Branch-truly was the man he had once crossed paths with… then everything would change.
The tavern keeper returned just then, laying out steaming dishes, breaking Silas’s thoughts apart.
“Eat first,” Freya said softly, masking her exhaustion with a small smile.
“Of course,” Silas replied, bowing his head as though the simple act of eating demanded reverence. He took up his chopsticks without argument and began to eat in silence.
Freya, however, spoke as she always did when comfort and memory collided. She shared fragments of her past-her father Arthur Thorne’s iron discipline, her mother Myra’s gentle wisdom, and most of all, the warmth and shadow of her brother Eric. Every detail of her tone, every subtle shift in her face revealed how deeply she still held on to him.
Silas listened but barely tasted the food. The venison stew might as well have been ash on his tongue. His movements were mechanical, as though his body remembered the act of eating even while his mind wandered far, circling an image of a young man with sharp eyes and a commanding presence.
When the meal was done and the tavern keeper returned to tally the bill, his curiosity finally broke through.
“Freya, it’s been a long time. What brings you back here today?”
She placed her utensils down with care. “I came to settle the matter of my family’s ancestral estate.”
The man nodded knowingly. “Ah. The estate in Stormveil’s old quarter. I thought so. Most of the families from that district have already signed the redevelopment contracts. Word is, the demolition begins in a matter of days.”
Freya froze. Her eyes widened, her breath stilled. “Demolition?”
“Yes,” the man said, surprised by her reaction. “You didn’t know? They’re tearing it all down. The paperwork’s been moving for months now.”
Her silence was sharper than denial. She had heard nothing. No letter, no summons, no WolfComm notification. Nothing.
Outside, Silas studied her face, reading the storm brewing beneath her calm mask. “Do you still want to see the estate?”
Her voice was clipped, her anger leashed. “No. First, we go to the Redevelopment Bureau. I need answers.”
By the following morning, the scandal surrounding Aurora of the Bluemoon Pack had only spread wider. What began as whispers had erupted into wildfire across the networks. Despite her family’s desperate attempts to choke the blaze-despite even the Thorne family’s influence-it was not enough. Aurora’s name was everywhere, her title of newly appointed pilot of the Bluemoon Airborne Wing now poisoned
1/3
12:51 pm P P P P
Chapter 200
+20 Free Coins
with shame.
Her parents had arrived in Ashbourne overnight, faces tight with desperation. They threw themselves at the mercy of the Thorne elders, begging them to intervene. “With Stormveil’s weight behind us, we can silence this!” they pleaded.
Inside the council chamber, Abel Thorne listened, his expression grave. Beside him sat Rowan, James, and Lennon Thorne. The air was thick with politics and desperation when the chamber doors suddenly pushed open.
Every head turned.
Freya entered with Silas shadowing her like a wolf carved from iron. Her presence cracked through the stale air like lightning over a battlefield.
“Freya?” Abel asked, genuinely surprised. “What brings you here?” His gaze flicked uneasily to Silas-Alpha of the Ironclad Coalition.
Freya ignored the murmurs. Her eyes locked onto Lennon Thorne. Cold, unflinching. “I came to ask my third uncle why the compensation contracts for Stormveil’s Fifth Branch estate bear his name.”
The words fell like a thunderclap.
The room stilled, and every eye turned toward Lennon.
A flash of annoyance crossed his face, quickly masked with a sneer. He had known this girl would become a thorn the moment she strode into the Stormveil Primal Hall weeks ago. And here she was, proving him right.
Abel’s voice cut through the tension. “Lennon? What is she talking about?”
Lennon spread his hands, feigning reason. “The estate belongs to Stormveil. It is ancestral land, not some private property for one branch to hoard. And what then? The Fifth Branch is reduced to one daughter. Do you truly expect us to hand over the compensation to her? When she marries, it will be lost to another pack’s bloodline. No. Better to keep it within the Thornes where it belongs.”
Freya’s laugh was bitter and sharp. “What age do you live in, Uncle? Since when can a she-wolf not inherit? Fifth Branch property belongs to Fifth Branch blood. You are neither.”
Lennon’s expression hardened, disdain leaking from every word. “Blame your father and your brother for dying too soon. If they were alive, it would be theirs. But they’re not. And you…” His lip curled. “You cling to ghosts,”
The word struck her like claws across flesh. Rage flared hot and savage, her wolf snarling in her chest, her vision tinged red. Her father Arthur, her mother Myra, her brother Eric-their absence weighed like chains, and Lennon dared to spit on their memory.
Her hands trembled, then stilled, then lifted-fingers curling into claws as her wolf surged. She didn’t care that he was her elder. She didn’t care that this room reeked of politics and tradition. She would not let the
insult stand.
But before her hand could strike, another moved faster.
Silas Whitmor’s arm shot forward, his fingers closing around Lennon’s throat like an iron vice. He
2/3
Chapter 200
+20 Free Coins
slammed him back into his chair, dominance crashing from him in waves that rattled the very air. The scent of raw Alpha power filled the chamber, sharp as steel and salt.
Lennon gagged, his hands clawing at Silas’s grip. The room fell silent save for the choked gasps of the elder wolf.
Silas’s voice was low, cold as a grave wind. “Careful, Thorne. You speak of the Fifth Branch as though it’s yours to pilfer. But Freya is Arthur Thorne’s daughter, Eric Thorne’s sister. She carries more worth in her blood than you ever will. Insult her family again, and you will beg me for death before I grant it.”
The other elders shifted uncasily, their wolves cowed beneath the weight of Silas’s dominance. Freya stood still, her chest heaving, fury and pride warring within her. For the first time, she saw someone strike on her behalf with the same ferocity her brother once had.
Her hand fell back to her side, clenched tight. Her eyes, however, burned like embers, fixed on Lennon’s paling face.
“My brother is alive,” she said quietly, the words steady, a vow carved into stone. “And when he returns, you will answer for every word spoken here today.”
The chamber echoed with her defiance.