Page 116 of Salt Between the Wolves

Everyone except Eira.

Lyra groaned dramatically.

"Oh no."

Finn closed his eyes.

"You don't even know what happened."

"I know enough."

"You never know enough."

"I know more than you."

"Impossible."

Aldric rubbed a hand across his jaw, and although the gesture was small, Eira had already learned that it meant he was thinking.

Maelin quietly set her papers aside, and for the first time all day neither of them attempted to hide their tension.

The steward withdrew, the door closed behind him, and the silence lingered.

Eira looked from one face to another.

"What am I missing?"

No one answered immediately.

Outside, a gust of wind rattled the windows while, somewhere deeper within the house, a door slammed. Although life continued around them, the room felt different now—smaller, tighter, as though everyone had been waiting for the arrival of a storm.

Finally Aldric exhaled.

"Leander is coming."

The statement appeared to explain everything to everyone except her.

Eira folded her arms.

"Should I know who that is?"

A smile finally appeared on Aldric's face.

"Probably not."

"Helpful."

"Usually."

Maelin rolled her eyes, but Aldric ignored her.

"Leander is the Alpha of Silverwake."

Eira frowned slightly.

Silverwake.

The name was familiar. She knew it as the great western port beyond the mountains, a city of ships, trade, and sea routes stretching farther than Frostvein's influence had ever reached. Her tutors had mentioned it often enough, though politics beyond the eastern territories had never interested her father unless they threatened his borders.