Silas.
Silas had not intended to meet anyone that night.
The council had already drained what little patience he had left, their voices still echoing in his mind—fearful, questioning, bordering on defiance in a way that would have been unthinkable not long ago.
The frost had done more than freeze the land. It had begun to crack the structure of his authority, and that alone made it dangerous.
So when he stepped into the forest, following nothing but a vague direction given by a child, he had expected many things.
Nyra was not one of them.
The moment he saw her standing there, partially shadowed by the trees, something sharp flickered across his expression before it settled back into cold control.
Even though he knew deep down that Selena wouldn't be bold enough to show her face anywhere close to the pack, he hadn't expected a rogue to be confident enough to call for his attention.
