Sophia had learned the hard way that trust, once broken, rarely healed the same.
By morning, she had made her decision.
If Kaen was the traitor—and she was almost certain he was—then she couldn't afford another mistake. The stakes were too high. The enemy too close.
So she began her game.
It started with a lie.
"The altar held nothing," she told the Wind Council. "Just ruins. Faint echoes. No usable knowledge."
She saw how Kaen's gaze twitched, just slightly. A flicker of disappointment.
He believed her.
Good.
⸻
Noah paced beside her as they walked the glass causeways. "You're lying now."
Sophia didn't deny it.
He stopped her with a hand on her arm. "What happened to telling them the truth?"
"I told the ones I trust."
"That's not how trust works."
She pulled away. "I'm not d
