But I just nodded against his shoulder. Stood in his arms and tried to breathe through the weight of the lie on my chest.
I spied Cindrissian over Varyth’s shoulder, silent and still, tucked in the shadows like he always was. But now he stepped closer, his gaze never leaving mine.
“Ashterion did that?” he asked.
I looked up, and caught it. Something in his tone. Something that wasn’t surprise. Not really.
He knew.
My breath hitched, shallow in my throat, and I didn’t answer. I just looked at him—pleading, silent.
Please don’t.
Cindrissian studied me for a long moment. Then, almost like an afterthought, he asked, “Does it make it on your list?”
I hesitated for only a breath. “No.”
He nodded, and stepped back, leaning against the wall once more.
The others glanced between us, watching the exchange with quiet puzzlement. But neither of us offered explanation.
I let myself exhale.
Because whatever Cindrissian had seen, whatever he suspected… he wasn’t going to expose it.
The others were curled in uneasy sleep against the stone walls, exhaustion and pain dragging them under despite the ever-present tension that clung to us.
Except for Darian and me. We sat side by side against one of the walls, watching the others breathe.
“You okay?” Darian’s voice broke the fragile quiet.
I let the air in my lungs go and hoped the ache would go with it. “No.”
Darian didn’t push. He sat there, his warmth a grounding thing against the cold.
I hesitated before speaking again, fingers curling around my knees. “I… accidentally toldhimabout Mireth and Eryx.”
Wordlessly, Darian reached out and squeezed my hand. Warm. Solid. A quiet, simpleanchor. We sat there, breaths steadying in the silence, the weight of our lives pressing against our shoulders.
Darian’s hoarse whisper broke the quiet. “As a babe, he used to wake me up at dawn, you know.”
I blinked. My mind sluggish with exhaustion, with too many emotions fraying at the edges. “Fionn?”
Darian let out a tired, rasping chuckle. “Yep. Every gods-damn morning.”
I rested my head against the wall, staring up at the cracks in the ceiling. “Mireth was the same,”I murmured. “Eryx though…” A small, aching smile pulled at my lips.“He’d sleep until noon if I let him.”
Darian chuckled, the sound rough and worn. “Smart kid.”
“The smartest.”
I let myselfthinkabout them. Reallythinkabout them. And it threatened to rip me apart. Mireth and Eryx.Wondering where I was.WhyI hadn’t come back.
I released a slow, shaky breath. “Mireth had the fiercest little glare.”
I could almost see it now. Her arms crossed, brow furrowed, fists planted on tiny hips.
“You mean she has.”
