Her chest tightened, her nails biting into her palms. "Then what were they?"
His voice lowered, roughened.
"They were silenced. Used as pawns in a war of influence between factions in court. And yes—my family's name is tied to it. Not because I ordered it, but because Blackthorne blood was behind the command."
The corridor tilted. Liora gripped the wall, her body rigid. "Your family…"
Lucien stepped closer, urgency cracking through his control. "I swore to uncover who gave the order. I swore to make them pay. That vow is why I was marked, why they branded me guilty of treason. Because I refused to play their game in silence."
She stared at him, torn between the sharp sting of betrayal and the fragile thread of trust still tethering them.
"Why didn't you tell me?" she whispered, her voice trembling.
