Chapter 90

• The forest closed around them, silent and waiting, the air thick enough to taste. Ariana remained on her knees, the stone beneath her cold and rough. Clara stood only a few steps away, the fog curling around her legs like something alive. Neither of them moved.
• For a moment, they were girls again—two shadows in the training yard, laughing, whispering secrets about futures they thought were certain. But that memory did not soften Clara. If anything, it sharpened her. Her hand trembled once at her side before she clenched it into a fist.
• “You want honesty?” Clara’s voice was steady, but her chest rose too fast. “Fine. I’ll give you the part I never said. The part I hate most.”