Page 313 of Salt Between the Wolves

Beyond the fortress stretched the valley, beyond the valley the mountains, and beyond them the world.

Soren heard her approach but did not turn immediately, and for a moment they stood side by side in silence before he said,

"You shouldn't be climbing stairs yet."

Eira looked at him.

"Good morning to you too."

Something suspiciously close to amusement flickered across his face before disappearing.

The silence that followed felt different from the one they had shared the previous evening, lighter and less fragile.

At length Eira rested her hands on the stone parapet.

"I've made my decision."

Beside her, Soren became very still; his expression did not change, though only someone who knew him would have noticed, and Eira did.

"I won't return to Frostvein."

His gaze remained fixed on the valley below.

"I see."

"I won't become Alpha."

This time he looked at her, not questioning, simply listening.

"Frostvein deserves someone who wants that responsibility."

Her eyes drifted toward the distant mountains.

"I don't."

The words felt strangely easy once spoken aloud, not because the choice was simple, but because it was honest.

For years she had believed duty required her to become whatever other people needed—a daughter, a symbol, a sacrifice, an Alpha—but for the first time she was choosing something because she wanted it, not because she was expected to.

Soren inclined his head once, offering no argument, no disappointment, only acceptance.

"What will happen to Frostvein?" he asked.

"There are captains older than I am and elders wiser than I am; they'll choose someone."

"And if they ask for you?"

Eira smiled faintly.

"They can ask."

That earned the smallest hint of approval from him as the wind shifted between them. After a moment Soren spoke again.

"Silverwake?"

The single word carried everything else—a ship, a distant coast, a life elsewhere, the future he had promised not to stand in the way of.

Eira looked out across the valley, at the fortress below, at the mountains beyond, at all the roads she could take.