SAGE

Silence fell across the field the moment the six men stepped into the arena.

I saw relief flood Adam’s face so openly it made something deep in my chest soften. The tight coil of tension I had been carrying since dawn loosened in one sharp pull.

I didn’t think about my next act. I only moved. Fast. Closing the distance between us in hurried strides until I finally crashed into him, my lips wide in a smile.

His arms came around me instantly, tightly, desperately. Like he had been holding himself together by sheer force of will and could finally let go.

And gods, I felt it. That quiet,...