The room felt smaller after Lucian’s words, the air too thick to breathe. *Enough to start a war.* My mind raced, replaying every moment with Killian, every cryptic word he’d dropped like breadcrumbs I hadn’t bothered to follow. *There might be another way.* Had he meant betrayal all along? Or was this something else—something I couldn’t yet grasp?
Lucian stood by the door, his broad frame taut with barely restrained fury. His hands flexed at his sides, like he was itching to hit something—or someone. I didn’t blame him. I felt it too, that restless burn under my skin, the kind that comes when you realize you’ve been blindsided by someone you thought you could trust.
“What does he know?” I asked again, my voice sharper this time. I wasn’t letting it go.
Lucian’s silver eyes flicked to m
