KELLY THOMPSON'S POV

The clinking of metal echoed through the war room as Paul and Gamma Thorne heaped an array of gleaming weapons upon the central table. Swords with edges honed to deadly precision, crossbows accompanied by quivers of silver-tipped bolts, and daggers wrought from the sacred steel only our kind could summon. Each piece was a promise-a solemn vow to protect or perish.

"Place the shields by the eastern wall," I commanded, my gaze sweeping over our arsenal with a critical eye. ...