*The one you trust most has been lying since the day he returned.*
The words wouldn't stop echoing, no matter how many times Serena tried to shake them loose. She stared at Kael across the dim sanctuary chamber, searching his face for the reassurance she desperately wanted to find, and found only that same flicker of guilt he'd failed to hide fast enough.
"It was trying to manipulate you," Kael said quietly. "Shadow wolves twist truth into weapons. You can't trust a word it whispered."
"Then look me in the eye and tell me it was lying." Serena's voice shook, exhaustion and fear curdling into something sharper. "Tell me there's nothing you're still hiding from me."
Kael's silence answered before he ever opened his mouth.
---
"Kael." Her voice cracked. "Please."
"There are things I ha
