Nova Peak Powinch

elowen is quiet for a long time.

it is not because she does not hear ayovi—she does. every word, every syllable spoken in calm cadence lands like flint inside her ribs, sparks chasing the soft ache that has never quite left her.

she stares at the dirt between her paws. kaldros is asleep beside her, curled like a comma, his breath shallow and warm against her flank. she must protect him now. from this, from the truth, now.

"i know," she says quietly. it is not a defense—it is hardly anything at all. "i have never asked you to ignore what was done. you are right to be angry, ayovi, but i know my husband." a pause. her throat works. she lifts her eyes to ayovi’s, tired but not pleading.

"it cannot play out that way. not—" her voice catches, and she shakes her head slightly, as if trying to will the emotion away. "not with everyone watching. you will only make enemies where there doesn’t need to be any." her heart clenches. her mate. her son’s father. and yet, love cannot shield a man from justice—but how could they expect her to send him away so willingly?

"he deserves consequence. i don’t deny that, but do not humiliate him. no spectacle." a beat. "let me speak to the mountain first. try to keep our peace without tearing it apart in front of them all."