Katelyn’s POV

After the dinner with Charles, the tension in my body still lingered, the cold memory of Charles’s threats, his warnings curling in my mind like smoke.

Ethan must have noticed. He kept glancing over at me, as if he wanted to ask if I was okay.

I forced a small smile for his sake, not wanting to let the ugliness of the evening take up any more space between us.

We reached the parking lot. “I need to stop by the battlefield dormitory before heading back,” I said quietly. ...