Chapter 23

RALPH

I couldn’t shake the thought of Cormac’s men lurking out there, planning their next move. Every fiber of my being screamed that they were waiting, biding their time, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. I sat in a dimly lit room with Callan and my brother, Jasper, discussing strategies. My frustration was reaching a boiling point. They had betrayed me, gone behind my back, and for that, they would pay dearly.

“We can’t let them escape,” I yelled, slamming my fist down on the bed, the anger consuming me. “We need to find them before they come for us again.”

I tried to get up, to do something, anything. But my body, weakened from the brutal journey back, betrayed me. I collapsed back onto the bed, my muscles trembling with exhaustion. I hated this—hated feeling so powerless, so vulnerable. Every part of me wanted to get out there and hunt them down myself, but I was still too weak from the battle, the long, arduous trek back that nearly killed me. My mind was sharp, but my bo