Coran didn't blink. His earlier lie had landed smoothly, he assumed, and now he wove another without flinching.
"Master Agara and His Highness rode out toward Jaigara's borders," he said. "After your last visit with monsters, when the goblins attacked, he wanted to ensure the sorcerers hadn't returned."
Half a truth, polished and wrapped in just enough logic to sound convincing.
Ren nodded, her gaze flicking toward Arkilla, whose eyes hadn't left Coran since the first word.
"Thank you, Beta Coran," Ren said softly. But a pulse of suspicion began to beat in her chest.
Ren shot a sharp glare at the gossiping girls before turning away with a low sigh. "Rude," she muttered beneath her breath, already walking off. She couldn't stay there a moment longer.
Once they were out of earshot, her eyes swept the corridors warily. "They're lying to us," she said, voice low and certain.
"I know," Arkilla replied grimly. "And there's no way to prove it. Not yet."
