Those invisible chains he had forged, link by link, now tightened around his throat, choking the choice out of him.

Those invisible chains he had forged, link by link, now tightened around his throat, choking the choice out of him. Malia had made the first move. There was no doubt about that. But was it strategy— or something rawer, braver? Maybe, just maybe, this time… it was real. His calculations curdled into fears. Mind swirling at dizzying depths. For the first time, no clever thought, no rationalization, no distance, no armor could save him.