Oh.
Oh, right.
The realization hit him like a slow, sinking stone in his gut. In the chaos earlier, Eli hadn't even considered it.
Unlike Kairo—who didn't really know the ins and outs of his ability and therefore never questioned much—Caelen knew exactly what Eli could do.
His one and only skill: Danger Detection.
Which meant there was no logical reason for Eli to know how Caelen's abilities worked. None—unless…
One: he'd been watching Caelen very closely. Too closely. The kind of attention that would only reinforce Caelen's existing suspicion that Eli worked with, or worse, for Kairo.
Two: he was a hopeless super fan who had memorized every detail about Caelen and his skills.
"Uhm…"
Neither sounded like a good answer.
Unlike Kairo's flashy, headline-worthy abilities, Caelen's were less public—complicated, precise, and shrouded in mystery.
Most people only knew the broad strokes: he could store pain, transfer it to enemies, even take pain from his allies.
