MIREYA POV
I clenched the blanket tighter around myself, my ribs still screaming in protest, but I couldn't tear my eyes away from him. Every word he spoke pressed into my chest like a weight, every movement of his like fire along my skin.
"You…" I started, my voice shaky, "You think you can just scare me into using powers I don't have?"
His smile widened, slow and deliberate, not cruel, but confident in a way that made my stomach twist.
"I don't need to think," he said softly, his voice low, "I know."
I shot him a glare, trying to push back the fear, the anger, the memory of every moment on that training field where I'd been helpless under his gaze. "Know what?" I hissed.
"That you're hiding something," he said, stepping closer until the air between us felt charged. "You didn't use your magic when everyone would have. You could have. And yet…" His eyes lingered on me, piercing, unreadable. "You didn't."
