Elara Voss:
Silence.
Thick, heavy, suffocating silence.
The words still echoed in my head, even though no one had spoken for several seconds. We were his beloveds once.
I couldn't breathe.
I felt Ronan shift beside me, his body going stiff, his breath sharp. It was rare to see him at a loss for words, but right now, he was frozen, his entire frame locked in place.
I turned back to Lucien.
Still unmoving.
Still bowed.
Still quiet.
Oh, gods.
This—this wasn't a shock. This wasn't just fear.
This was resignation.
A horrifying realization slammed into me. He had already known. Not just that they were here. But that they had been coming for him. That the moment we let our guard down, they would take him.
He had walked into their trap with his eyes wide open.
The silver-eyed woman, Lena, crouched in front of him, her head tilting, eyes gleaming in the torchlight.
