Kierygan folded his arms across his chest. “Is that why you left Morvanya?”
Evander was quiet for a moment. Then he nodded. “I couldn’t bear the guilt—or the way they looked at me afterward.” A shadow passed through his expression. “I spent years tracking down the witch who cursed me. Burned her myself when I found her.”
He lifted his gaze to mine. “Isabella was just about your age when it happened,” he said quietly. “I see her in you sometimes.”
A lump formed in my throat, heavy and tight. That’s why I reminded him of her. That’s why he’d always been so gentle with me. Patient. Protective.
Before I could stop myself, my feet moved. I crossed the space between us and wrapped my arms around him—a quiet, wordless embrace.
A small gesture, but I hoped it might ease even a sliver of the
