Chapter 121

• Killian POV
• I leave the house with the smell of Emmi still wrapped around me and the weight of Aurora’s rejection burning in my chest. The door closes behind me with a soft click that feels final, and I stand on the porch for a moment, staring at the quiet street, the bond pulling at me like a chain I can’t break. I want to turn around, to go back inside, to hold my daughter again, to make Aurora see that I never stopped fighting for her. But I can’t. Not yet. The elders will know I’ve been with her—they always do—and if I don’t move fast, they’ll come for her, for Emmi, for everything I’m trying to protect. I stride though the streets, the contract folded tightly in my jacket pocket, and walk quickly through the city.
• The office building looms ahead, its glass facade reflecting the night sky, and I park in the underground garage, my tires screeching against the concrete. I pause outside for a moment, then I walk, my steps quick and purposeful as I head for the private elevator. The ride up is too slow, the silence in the car suffocating, and I clench my fists, the bond still humming with Aurora’s presence, with the warmth of Emmi’s small hand on my chest. I have to make this work. I have to convince the elders to back off, to let me have my family without dragging them into a war.