Kaidan’s expression softened again, the haunted edge retreating as though he’d folded it away. He tilted his head, eyes narrowing in a more thoughtful, almost curious way.
“You say this Mia is your friend,” he said. “What does she look like?”
Elowyn froze for half a heartbeat, pulse spiking. His voice was calm, harmless on the surface—but the question sliced sharp beneath it.
Her fingers tightened over the parchment, knuckles pale. The first image that rose—Mia’s dark hair, her quiet laugh, the way she hugged too tightly when afraid—was one she shoved down, smothering it beneath a lie.
“She’s…” Elowyn forced a quick smile, her voice light, careless. “Pale. Very pale. Blond hair, long, always falling into her eyes. Big eyes, clever ones. She was quick with her wit, sharper than me by fa
