Elara ran.
Through the forest, branches whipping at her face, tears blurring her vision. The note burned in her memory—Damon's handwriting, Damon's betrayal, Damon's lies. Everything she'd believed, everything she'd trusted, crumbling to dust.
She reached the border outpost as the moon reached its zenith. Caleb was at the door before she could knock, pulling her inside, his face shifting from joy to concern to alarm as he saw her expression.
"Elara? What happened?" He held her at arm's length, searching her face. "You're shaking. Talk to me."
She told him. Everything. The chest, the note, Damon's face when she'd confronted him. Caleb listened in silence, his jaw tightening, his eyes darkening with each word.
When she finished, he was quiet for a long moment. Then: "Damon. The traitor
