Edris.
The mont we stepped out of the cave, sothing felt off in a way I could not imdiately explain. It was not obvious or loud, but it settled quietly beneath the surface, lingering just enough to make itself known.
I kept walking, not wanting to dwell on it.
But Selena’s voice did not leave.
It stayed, quiet and persistent, settling into a place I could not easily ignore.
If you think you hate, just imagine how much I resent you.
My jaw tightened before I could stop it.
Her words should not have mattered.
And yet, they stayed.
Kael moved ahead as usual, his posture straight and controlled, giving nothing away. Ronan walked beside , quieter than normal, his thoughts clearly elsewhere.
Nyra followed just behind us, though she had barely said anything, I could already feel the storm brewing inside her.
For a while, no one spoke.
Then Nyra did.
"She is not afraid of you."
She let the words sit, watching us carefully, as if asuring which one of us would react first.
I did not turn to look at her, keeping my gaze forward as I responded.
"She spoke out of turn. That will be corrected."
Nyra let out a soft sound that almost resembled amusent.
"That is not what I saw," she said, her tone still light but pressing where it should not. "She stood there and said whatever she wanted. She challenged all of you, and nothing happened."
I slowed slightly, not stopping, but enough to show that I was listening.
"She was addressed," I replied.
"No," Nyra said smoothly. "She was allowed."
Ronan stopped walking.
The shift was imdiate, pulling at the space between us as he turned toward her, his expression tightening.
"You seem to forget that you started it," Ronan said, the words coming too quickly to be fully controlled.
Nyra’s reaction was small but noticeable. For a brief second, surprise crossed her face before it disappeared behind sothing colder.
"I did nothing," she said. "She attacked ."
"You hit her first," Ronan replied without hesitation.
Silence followed that, stretching just long enough to settle.
Nyra’s gaze sharpened as she looked at him. "I corrected her tone," she said. "That is not the sa thing."
"It is when you provoke it," Ronan said.
That was enough.
I stopped walking and turned, letting my attention settle on both of them.
"This is irrelevant," I said calmly, but firmly enough to cut through what was building. "It does not matter who started it. Selena does not have the right to respond to us."
Nyra held my gaze, and this ti there was no attempt to hide the satisfaction that flickered through her expression.
Ronan did not argue, but I could feel the resistance in him, quiet but present.
"She is forgetting her place," I added.
"Or maybe she rembers it very well," Nyra said, her voice softer now, more careful.
I looked at her fully.
"She said she has nothing here," Nyra continued. "No power. No say. No one."
Her eyes moved between us, asuring.
"And yet she speaks like soone who believes that is not entirely true."
Ronan’s posture stiffened slightly, and Kael finally turned, his attention shifting in a way that made it obvious he was considering her words.
Nyra noticed.
"She is not afraid," she repeated, her voice quieter now but more pointed. "And people only stop being afraid when they think they are safe."
The words settled between us with more weight than they should have.
"She believes you will not hurt her." she said and said to Ronan. "And maybe she is right."
At that mont, the bond shifted again.
It was sharp and tight, pressing inward in a way that felt wrong. For a brief second, my breath caught.
There was no pull, no sense of direction or alignnt, just resistance, as though sothing unseen was pushing back.
Ronan exhaled quietly.
Kael went still.
I felt it settle into my chest, unfamiliar and unwelco, and imdiately forced my focus back into place.
"She believes wrong," I said.
Nyra tilted her head slightly, studying .
"Does she?"
Kael’s gaze moved then, not to Nyra, but to .
"The bond reacted," he said.
I nodded once. "Yes."
"It did not react to her," he continued. "It reacted to us."
The thought ford before I could stop it.
That we had pushed too far.
I shut it down imdiately
That made no sense.
"The bond does not choose sides," I said. "It never has."
Nyra said nothing, but I could feel her watching closely.
Ronan ran a hand through his hair, slower this ti. "That didn’t feel neutral," he muttered.
"It does not matter what it felt like," I replied, keeping my tone even. "Feeling is not fact."
Nyra stepped a little closer. "So what now?" she asked. "You just let this go?"
I t her gaze, steady and unyielding.
"No."
The answer was simple.
"Nothing changes," I continued. "She stays where she is. She does not leave without permission. She does not act without direction, and she does not forget her position again."
Nyra watched for a mont before giving a slow nod, though there was still sothing calculating in her expression.
Ronan said nothing.
Kael remained quiet, but I could tell he was thinking, and that was the only part of this that concerned .
Because Kael did not think without reason.
And when he did, things shifted.
I turned and continued walking, trusting them to follow.
They did.
They always did.
The structure was still intact. The order still held.
But the feeling did not fade.
It lingered beneath everything, low and persistent, refusing to settle into sothing I could easily dismiss.
I did not look back toward the cave.
I did not need to.
Because for the first ti, the certainty that she would remain exactly where we left her did not feel as solid as it should have.
And that was not sothing I was willing to accept.
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