Chapter 290

DEREK’S POV For days, the question gnawed at me. Had I given up on her? The thought dug claws into my chest every time I let my guard down. The image of Aurelia—alone, cornered, kneeling before that monster—haunted me even here, back in my own territory. I could still hear her voice, the way it cracked and yet held steady when she defied me, defied everyone. I told myself there was no choice. That leaving her in Draven’s pack was the only way to keep our ruse alive. That if he discovered the truth—that the guards he trusted weren’t his men at all, but me and Kael—everything would collapse. But it didn’t feel like strategy anymore. It felt like betrayal. Kael was worse. He didn’t bother to hide the storm inside him. “We should bring her back,” he growled for the hundredth time, pacing like a caged wolf across my study. His fists clenched, his eyes blazing. “She’s our responsibility. We trained her, we stood by her, and now she’s suffering in his hands. What kind of men are we, Darius, t