Nessa names the terms of our guardianship pact and expects them taken, and I take them. I tell myself it's strategy, this uneasy partnership against the rival clan. But her command in the dim longhouse makes my bold front falter. I need to be kept, not cast aside like before, and every shared plan pulls me closer to the submission I secretly crave.

Every night together turns the alliance into something more dangerous. Nessa does not want a partner. She wants a claim. If the ward falls to the rivals, we lose everything, but it's her claiming that might shatter what little control I have left.