I didn’t say anything.
I didn’t have to. The silence answered for me.
Across the table, Gideon watched the two of us, quiet, taking it all in.
He leaned back in his chair and let out a deep sigh.
“And he thought the stone would buy her freedom.” It wasn’t phrased like a question.
I gave a small nod. “That was the idea.”
Keegan’s jaw tightened. “And you believed him?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“But you thought about it.”
I met his eyes. “You would’ve too.”
Neither of us spoke after that, and Gideon glanced around the table.
“What exactly did he say?”
I thought back to the woods.
The quiet way Rendel had watched me. The careful words he’d chosen.
“He said the Priestess wants the stone,” I said. “And that I have something she needs.”
Bella frowned.
“He seemed very interested in making sure Mariselle didn’t get the stone.”
Gideon’s fingers tapped lightly against the table.
“He would be.”
Keegan looked up. “You sound certain.”
Gideon lifted one shoulder in a small shrug. “Rendel’s never had a simple relationship with power or Shadowick.” He looked directly at Keegan. “And certainly not Stonewick.”
Keegan went still beside me. That had hit a nerve. The tension slid across the table so clearly it almost felt like another person sitting there with us.
Nova caught it too. Her eyes moved from Gideon to Keegan, slow and thoughtful.
“You knew him,” she said.
Gideon didn’t answer right away. He took a moment, like he was deciding how much to say.
“Well enough.”
That didn’t really clear anything up.
The quiet that followed stretched a little too long.
I cleared my throat. “That’s not comforting.”
Gideon brought his gaze to mine. “It’s reality.”
