Chapter 71 The Whispered Betrayal

• Eli’s POV
• The fire flared low, its embers shining like small, dying stars in the heavy darkness of the forest. I threw my arms over myself, attempting to ward off the chill that seeped into my bones. It wasn’t simply the cold. It was everything—Finn’s haunting gaze, Kieran’s cryptic warnings, and the sense that the darkness were closing in.
• Finn slept fitfully, his little figure shaking even in slumber. I wanted to reach out, to tell him that everything would be well, but the words froze in my throat. I couldn’t lie to him. Not when I wasn’t sure of it myself.