He locked it down before it reached his expression.
“This morning she was pale,” Sule continued. “Now she is colder. Weaker. She keeps insisting she is fine.”
Rhen stared at him.
This was not about him.
It had never been about him.
Leena was Sule’s queen.
Sule’s mate.
The center of the clan.
“What do you want me to do?” Rhen asked.
The words came out sharp and controlled.
He already knew.
He simply needed Sule to say it.
Sule dragged a hand through his hair.
“I have to attend the meeting with Isa. The attacks are escalating, and the coven is threatening to withdraw its cooperation.”
“Then cancel it.”
“If I cancel now, Isa will assume weakness.”
“Let her.”
“I cannot.”
Rhen’s jaw flexed.
Sule looked toward the closed door behind him before returning his attention to Rhen.
“I need someone with Leena. Someone who will not let her dismiss this and pretend she is unbreakable.”
His next breath came slowly.
“Make sure she does not crash while I am gone.”
The strain around his mouth deepened.
“Make sure she doesn’t…”
He cut himself off, refusing to give the thought full shape.
Rhen understood anyway.
Sule held his gaze.
“I trust you.”
The words landed heavily in a room already full of ghosts.
