The forest felt a lot more different now.
Not quieter. There were still the sounds of the night: wind brushing through leaves, distant insects humming, branches creaking under their weight. Something didn't feel right. Phaeryl could feel it pressing against her skin.
“You knew,” she said finally, her voice lower now, steadier—but no less sharp. “Before he said it… you already knew, didn’t you?”
Xhanes didn’t answer immediately.
His hesitation alone was an answer.
Her jaw tightened. “How long?”
“A while,” he admitted.
“A while?” she echoed, incredulous. “A while, and you didn’t think to tell anyone? My father? Me?”
His gaze flickered—not with guilt, but calculation. “There wasn’t enough proof.”
“And now there is?” she snapped.
Another pause.
Then, quieter, “Now they’ve shown thei
