ed inside my head long af

the real reason y

very detail of his expression, and what I saw only deepened my confusion.

d, yet his words remained behind l

talking about

idn't

ience

doing

lifted

ng w

ng sec

n my voice was im

time I get close to the truth, you push me away. I

the trees around us, carrying the scent of pine and rain. It sho

t tell

r felt li

hed bi

rse you

d started w

I heard his foot

mmediately

ou ser

sto

uldn't b

un a

worry about me the mo

s hit th

briefly acr

n, that only m

ted what he had done

tion hau

pulsed softl

I could sti

er the r

r the hum

remained conn

tension in his ja

spoke for se

el surp

sor

xpected that I though

eath

wood never

to a

th the moonlight, looking at me

ould have made

ad, i

erase what happened, it co

erase the

ouldn't answer the one

hy

barely abov

looke

t followed told

sn't going

settled heavily

inued

followed wit

ur, neither of us spoke. Yet the silence felt differen

fused to let us

e moved clos

es met, the conne

harder it became to r

zation ter

mall clearing where a stre

ped to

up, I found Ka

s an

s a l

a m

my

his gaze made m

moment, neither

seemed to

etween us

art r

athing

n was impossi

t second he re

es dar

n became u

el step

ent sha

ty re

w disappoi

wl echoed thro

of us

ssion change

tness v

pha re

s it?"

wept acros

not a

ran th

had becom

bir

ins

th

sil

ous si

g, Kael moved

tec

inct

mine as he stared

art s

use I wa

erything, he was s

tion made m

appeared bet

epped into

der w

glowed beneath

her face, my enti

o.

ped before I c

rned to

t is

se the woman standing b

ely imp

w her

those

that

hat she had been

lt weak. I blinked several times, convinced my eye

mbered the funeral. I remembered crying until I could bar

tanding before

oked t

ol

diff

r hair. The sa

ver ran do

er to me. "Aria,

ake my eyes

oat fe

her," I

an smil

se you d

er voice made

reall

de me screamed that

ly lifted her

he said. "You must come wi

d heavily i

ead, then someone had l

ly terrified of