The lantern between them flickered, casting their faces into sharp planes of light and shadow.
Liora looked from one to the other, anger warring with disbelief. "And when were you planning to tell me any of this?"
"When it was safe," Lucien said, too quickly.
"When you thought I couldn't run," Rowan countered.
Her pulse roared in her ears. The sense of betrayal pressed harder than the night's chill. "So I've been a pawn in a game I didn't even know I was playing. You've both been moving me like a piece on a board, and I'm just supposed to… accept that?"
Lucien's voice softened, though his eyes stayed fierce. "You're not a pawn, Liora. You're the piece they can't afford to lose. That's why you need to stay close to me."
Rowan's gaze sharpened. "Or to me."
The choice they were silently laying before her was a trap and she knew it. Whatever move she made next would lock her into a path she couldn't undo.
