(Ava’s POV)
The wind howled through the cliffs above Shadow Claw as we gathered in the war room again. I sat at the edge of the long table, my arms crossed over my chest, while Dominic and Logan reviewed the map strewn with markers—rogue activity, border shifts, confirmed sightings. But the weight of it all settled in the spaces between us—unspoken tension, frayed trust, and something colder than mistrust: uncertainty.
I hated it.
Every step forward felt like walking across ice I couldn’t see the bottom of. And while I didn’t show it, Caleb’s words still echoed in the back of my mind: He’ll be your downfall.
Dominic hadn’t said much to me since we returned. He didn’t need to. I could feel it—his hesitation, his restraint. He thought he was protecting me by pulling back, by building wal
