Azura's POV
"Get on the horse, Azura."
His voice was flat. Cold. Like nothing had just happened. Like he hadn't just called me his mate in front of his cousin. As if the ground hadn't just shifted under my feet and shown me a side of him I didn't know existed.
I stood there frozen, the words still echoing around us. He called me his mate. He actually said it out loud. Why? Why now, after all the months of silence and cold shoulders and looks that passed straight through me like I wasn't even there?
"Azura."
Torin's voice pulled me out of my head. I blinked and turned to look at him. The playful glint that always lived in his eyes was gone. He was watching me with something quiet and serious, the kind of look that said he understood exactly how heavy this moment was.
"Go with him," he said softly, nodding toward the chestnut horse. "It's better this way right now."
