The door to their shared room closed with a soft thud behind them, shutting out the echoes of the corridor and the faint imprint of Selena's absent footsteps.
Ronan dropped his jacket near the bed, eyes narrowing. "We shouldn't have left her alone," he muttered, low and sharp.
He ran a hand through his hair, jaw tightening as the words left him.
Edris leaned against the far wall, arms folded, expression calm but with a faint crease between his brows betraying concern. "It's a council meeting, not an execution," he said evenly. "She'll handle it."
Kael, perched on the edge of the bed, didn't look up. "Maybe," he said slowly. "But even so… council or not, she walks into a room full of elders and rumors. That's not nothing."
Ronan's hands curled into fists. "She's too trusting. She shouldn't have gone without one of us—any of us—by her side."
