Chapter 53

• “We don’t have time for second thoughts now,” Crown growled, his voice heavy with command as he stared across the dimly lit room at his brothers. The air was thick with tension, the weight of what was about to unfold pressing down on all of us. Valen was near, and our plan, our desperate hope, was all we had left.
• I could feel the pounding of my heart in my chest, but this time, it wasn’t fear. No, this time it was something else—a fierce, unyielding drive to make sure that we all survived the storm that was coming.
• “Ava’s right,” I said, my voice cutting through the tension. “We have to be strategic. If we fail to act now, we lose everything. Valen won’t give us another chance.”