Kaelen's POV
I slammed the door behind me with enough force to rattle the frame. The sharp crack echoed through the corridor, and both Alaric and Helena jerked at the sound.
"Take your family drama somewhere else," I said, my voice cutting through the tension like a blade. "My mate needs rest."
Alaric's face remained flushed, his anger barely contained beneath the surface. "I need to see my daughter."
"She's resting. I already told you that."
"So now she abandons her father?"
The accusation hit the air between us like a slap. Abandon. As though Lyra owed this man anything after everything that had happened. As though he had earned the right to make demands while she lay healing from injuries his other daughter had caused.
Something ice-cold settled in my gut.
"Abandon?" The word left a bitter taste on my tongue. "Do you have any idea what that word actually means?"
Alaric's throat worked visibly as he swallowed. "She's my daughter. You have no right to keep me from her."
