RONAN
The northern border was a fifteen-minute drive, but it felt longer. Iris sat beside me, her hand still in mine, her thumb tracing circles on my skin. I let myself pretend that we were just driving through the night, just two people with nowhere else to be.
Kael was waiting for us when we arrived. His warriors were arranged in a loose circle around something on the ground. The floodlights were on and in the center of the light, curled on the ground was a figure.
I killed the engine, got out of the truck and Iris was beside me before I could tell her to stay,
"What happened?" I asked Kael.
"She was trying to cross the border when our patrol found her." Kael's voice was low. "She is wounded, malnourished and has been running for a while, by the look of her."
I approached slow
