Malrik POV

Not long after the officers left, Roarke’s emails began to arrive. I was about to open them when the door flew wide and there she stood.

My aunt, alive and storming, every inch as incandescently furious as I remembered. I smiled despite myself. Compared to the lifeless weight I’d carried from the summit, seeing her march into my office felt like a grace.

“What’s there to smile about?” she snapped, irritation sharp as a knife.

I leaned back, calm. “If you’d seen ...