(Ava’s POV)
Neutral ground felt like a joke. There was no such thing when Caleb was involved.
The so-called “meeting site” was a crumbling stretch of stone and moss between our lands—once an old treaty outpost, now little more than ruins surrounded by forest shadow. Symbolic, maybe. But I wasn’t in the mood for symbolism. Not when everything felt like it was one breath away from catching fire.
Logan had argued against me coming. Dominic didn’t say a word, just clenched his jaw and watched me with that storm behind his eyes again. But I didn’t need their approval.
If Caleb wanted to dangle a match over the battlefield, I was going to watch his hand closely enough to see where he planned to strike.
We arrived with a small escort—Dominic to my left, Logan just behind us, and two of our s
