(Ava’s POV)
The moment I stepped out of the war room, the air felt heavier.
Not because the skies threatened rain or the winds were colder than usual. But because Dominic’s words from the night before kept repeating in my head like a cruel mantra: Once your revenge is complete, you’ll leave.
I should’ve expected it. I should’ve known this was never going to end in something soft or permanent. Still, it stung worse than a betrayal. Because it wasn’t someone else who said it—it was Dominic. The one person I thought saw more in me than just blood and fire. The one I—
I shoved the thought down before it could finish.
The compound was humming with noise and tension, scouts returning from border runs, warriors sharpening blades or arguing over formations. I moved through them like smoke, in
