Chapter 5: Battle’s Reckoning
The council room was thick with tension.
Joel sat at the head of the long table, his fingers steepled beneath his chin, watching Jesse with the kind of cold amusement reserved for pests you were deciding whether or not to crush.
I stood at Joel’s right side—my place, my earned place—and watched Jesse squirm.
He didn’t show it openly, of course. Jesse was too proud for that.
But I could see the slight stiffness in his shoulders, the tightness around his mouth.
He wasn’t here to negotiate from a position of strength.
He was here because he had no other choice.
Joel leaned back in his chair, stretching lazily. "You said this was urgent, Blood Moon. Speak."
Jesse’s golden eyes flicked toward me for the barest moment before settling on Joel.
"We need an alliance," he said tightly.
The room fell silent.