Even though they had not made it obvious, they had been watching her the entire evening. Seeing her sitting alone and isolated should have stirred something inside them. It usually did. But this time, they felt nothing.
Nothing except an unexplainable bitterness toward her.
Kael had watched her rise from where she sat and begin walking toward them, her face calm, her hands tight at her sides.
The firelight flickered over her features, casting shadows that made her look smaller than she was. Fragile. Almost breakable.
Kael, Edris, and Ronan sat together with their heads close, speaking in low murmurs. They glanced at her but said nothing.
"I think I want to leave," she said.
Her voice was steady, though a faint tremor slipped through.
The three of them went still for a brief moment. Kael lifted a brow. Edris shifted slightly. Ronan's face remained neutral and unreadable.
"Leave?" Kael asked, his tone casual, almost like he did not believe her.
"Yes. I need to go back home."
