"I... I thought you were going to get killed," Kael admitted, his voice rough. "You walked right into his line of fire. That was reckless, Commander."
Night fell over the camp as embers winked alive. Mara and Tomas sat apart but no longer as strangers; between them, the extra horse slept, tethered and calm—a quiet testament to promises kept, tests endured, and a lesson learned. Lesson in Loyalty -Chapter 3-
"Good." Silas dropped the cigarette, grinding it into the wet pavement with his heel. "Stay behind me. Watch the angles. And for the love of the City, keep your finger off the trigger until you mean to kill." That was reckless, Commander
"Rules keep society civil," Silas said, exhaling smoke. "Loyalty keeps us alive. Tonight, you learned that sometimes you have to break the former to preserve the latter. Did you learn anything else?" "Stay behind me
: Kurt must navigate rising recognition at both his teaching job and the gym, leading to new opportunities but also creating friction with existing rivals.