The weight of Raphael’s words pressed down on Lily’s chest like a boulder. Leave the city? Tonight?
She had spent years surviving, clawing her way into a life where she could stand on her own, only to be told that she was still nothing more than a pawn in someone else’s game.
Her pulse pounded in her ears. “Why should I trust you?”
Raphael’s jaw clenched. “You shouldn’t. But I don’t have time to prove myself. If you stay, they will control you. Use you. And I…” He exhaled sharply. “I can’t let that happen.”
Lily studied him. He looked… desperate. Not just in the way a guilty man might, but in the way of someone who knew he was running out of time.
Kyra’s voice echoed in her mind. You can’t trust him.
And yet, what choice did she really have?
Lily squared her shoulders. “How do I get
