“As I was saying,” Malrik continues, voice steady. “I need to know if I can trust you. Callum betrayed us. Led us into a trap. Kaia thinks Seren’s been captured—that’s why she can’t sit still and heal.”
I nod, trying to focus on his words.
We keep walking.
Malrik’s still talking—something about trust, about the group’s dynamics, about what happened after the academy—but the words blur.
My feet keep moving.
And then Malrik stops.
I take two more steps before I realize he’s not beside me anymore.
I turn back. He’s watching me with that sharp, assessing focus.
“You’re leading us,” he says quietly.
I blink. “What?”
“You’ve been following her for the last three minutes. I don’t think you’ve noticed.”
My breath stutters. I glance around—and realize we’ve drifted in the exact direction Kaia and Revna walked.
Away from the square. Toward the edge of the village.
“I didn’t—”
“You did.” Malrik’s tone isn’t angry. Just observational. “Your feet made the choice before your brain caught up.”
He pauses. “Now answer the question. Why are you here?”
I swallow. Force myself to meet his eyes.
“I felt her,” I say quietly.
Malrik waits.
“When Kieran forced the bond, maybe even before, if I’m being honest with myself,” I continue, the words dragging out of me like broken glass. “I felt everything. Every emotion. Every…” I stop. Can’t finish.
“Every intimate moment,” Malrik says.
I flinch. “Yes.”
“And you stayed with Alekir anyway.”
“I thought—” My voice cracks. “I thought she’d chosen. That she’d never choose me. That I was better off…”
“Better off with the man who manipulated you?” Malrik’s voice is sharp now. “Who used you as a weapon against the one person your power was meant to protect?”
The words hit too close.
“I didn’t know what else to do,” I whisper. “I had nowhere else to go.”
Malrik gestures toward a quieter spot—still within sight of where Kaia and Revna are walking. We move there, and I force myself to keep my eyes off her.
Malrik leans against a post, arms crossed, studying me.
“And now?” he asks.
