"And what makes you believe I would ever buy this story?" I almost laughed, the sound caught somewhere between disbelief and irritation. This was beyond ridiculous. "You? The heroine worshipped by the world, the hope of the human race, turning against your own? Do you really think I'm that stupid? Why would you ever—"
I stopped mid-sentence.
Something was wrong.
Her eyes did not look like the eyes of someone lying. There was no calculation in them, no satisfaction, no hidden triumph waiting to spring the moment I lowered my guard. They were steady. Too steady. And in that instant, a single, unsettling possibility surfaced in my mind, sharp enough to make my breath hitch.
"Wait…" My voice wavered despite my effort to keep it firm, cutting through the heavy silence of the forest as it seemed to watch us both. "Are you still human? Did you accept Lyssandra as your master?"
