Chapter 137
“We’ve rerouted delegates through alternate paths. Escorts from neutral territories will accompany them hig region should feel exposed of compromised.”
I watched the way her amber eyes scammed the room- not once landing on me. Every answer was previse, measured. She hadn’t lost her edge.
“Excellent. And security inside the summit itself?” Asked councilman Vass.
Before Siena could speak, Alaric leaned forward, voice low and confident. “My people will be leading inner perimeter control. No one gets within fifty feet of her without clearance.”
A few council members exchanged glances.
“You’re assigning yourself to Siena’s protection detail?” I demand.
Alaric shrugs casually, “She’s a high–value target. I take my responsibilities seriously.”
The words were neutral, but his eyes flicked toward me.
A deliberate challenge.
My jaw clenched, “She doesn’t need you to speak for her,” I snap sharply.
The table quieted for a moment, the shift in tone drawing attention like blood in the water.
Siena didn’t flinch. She closed her folder slowly, her movements still maddeningly calm, “Alaric is my appointed head of security. His input is relevant. Let’s stay focused.”
Alaric didn’t smirk, but he didn’t need to.
I could feel the satisfaction radiating off him.
Alpha Drenna chuckles under his breath, “Gods, the tension in here’s thicker than the wards around the summit.
The rest of the meeting crawled by, a blur of details and projected alliances. I nodded and spoke when I had to, but my focus kept drifting back to her–how easily she wore that mask, how well she played the part.
All diplomacy and distance. Every calculated glance, every measured word–it was all a performance. And she wore it flawlessly.
Too flawlessly.
Once, I’d known what was beneath it. The fire. The softness she let no one else see. The way her laugh used to catch her off guard, and how she used to reach for my hand under the table during late–night strategy meetings, when no one was looking.
But now? Now she sat there like I was just another delegate. Like I was nothing more than a passing glance across a crowded room.
I watched the way she leaned slightly toward Alaric when he whispered something to her. The way she didn’t smile, but didn’t recoil either. She was listening. Trusting him.
That used to be me.
And maybe it was petty, maybe it was pathetic, but gods, it burned.
When it was finally over, chairs scraped back and voices rose in idle conversation as people began to leave. Siena stood, gathering her notes with practiced ease, already mentally exiting the room.
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I couldn’t let her leave again. Not like this.
“Siena “I begin impulsively, voice rougher than intended
Alaric glances sharply toward me, a protective instinct visible in his posture, but Siena subtly shakes her head, silently dismissing him. Alaric hesitates briefly before nodding respectfully, exiting the room with the others, leaving us momentarily alone..
My pulse quickens intensely at this rare chance for privacy swallow nervously, suddenly feeling awkward, uncertain–emotions entirely foreign before Signa dismantled me.
“You look well,” 1 murmur clumsily, my voice breaking slightly under the weight of everything left unsaid between us. “Your work abroad–it seems fulfilling.”
She studies me silently for a long heartbeat, eyes unreadable, before nodding slightly. “It’s been healing,” she acknowledges quietly, tone carefully neutral, neither inviting further conversation nor entirely rejecting it.
“Siena, I-“I start urgently, needing to express everything bottled inside–the remorse, the shame, the fierce regret I feel every waking moment. Yet the words falter in my throat, inadequate against the depth of my failure. She raises her hand gently, stopping me before I can continue. Her expression softens slightly, not unkind but resolute. “We’ve both moved forward, Raiden. Let’s leave the past where it belongs.”
P
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
