"Why did you even ask Flora to take you to that forest?" she finally questioned, her eyes searching his.
"Because she tried to run away from the mansion," Gabriel replied. "She wanted to play the hero, and despite my warnings, she decided to leave. I'm sorry, Amelie, I didn't have the time to explain any of this to you in the heat of the moment."
Amelie shook her head, the image of the jagged wounds on Flora's neck flashing in her mind. "The claws wounded her deeply, Gabriel. You should have hurried to her. How could Alex hurt her right in your presence?" she asked, her voice rising with a hint of heartbreak. "Flora must have been so scared. That's why she tried to leave... She thought she had to do everything alone without telling the others."
Tears began pooling in her eyes before they finally spilled over, streaming down her cheeks. The guilt of her sister being used as bait, even willingly, was more than she could bear.
