Chapter Twenty – Council of Shadows
Tristan
The council chamber smelled of parchment, wax, and the faint tang of steel. A long oak table stretched the length of the room, its surface covered in maps and scattered reports. His advisers had already gathered, waiting for him.
He sat at the head of the table, trying to force his thoughts into order. But all he could see—every time he closed his eyes—was Evandra in the nursery, cradling that child with a tenderness that tore him apart.
You should have gone in.
You should have spoken to her.
Thorne prowled restlessly inside him, pressing at the edges of his control.
“I’ll begin,” Tristan said gruffly, pushing the bond’s whisper to the back of his mind.
Kohl, his Gamma, was first to stand. Broad-shouldered and solemn, he laid a scroll
