Betrayal coiled in my gut like a slow-burning poison, eating its way through the part of me that still wanted to believe him.
“I’ve been dreaming a lot lately,” I said quietly.
Finn shifted beside me. “Have you?”
“These dreams… they don’t feel like dreams.” I looked at him. “They feel like memories. Ones I wasn’t supposed to have.”
He blinked—once, twice. His face had gone still.
“Elle…”
“Did you lie to me, Finn?”
I didn’t raise my voice. I didn’t accuse. I just asked—flat, raw, and cold.
He dropped back like he’d been struck, landing hard on the stone floor. The colour bled from his face.
I didn’t stop.
“Please,” I said. “Just tell me the truth.”
“You don’t understand—”
“Who is Liora?” The name hit the air like a knife.
Finn’s lip trembled. His hands pressed to the ground like he needed it to stop himself from falling apart.
“Please, Elle… it’s not worth it—”
“You told me you found me in the woods,” I said, my voice starting to shake. “You said we met when I was sixteen.”
I leaned in, my breath shallow. My hands were trembling.
“But that’s not true, is it?”
Finn looked stricken, haunted.
“Elle,” he breathed, “I love you. I just wanted toprotectyou.”
“So, you lied to me?” I said, bitter and breathless. “Was I not meant toremember?”
“Liora said you wouldn’t. That it would be kinder if you forgot.Ithought it would be kinder. Elle, I swear.”
“Tell me what you know, Finn.Everything.” My voice cracked. “How do I know Vael? How doyouknow him? Who is Liora? What happened to me?”
I was shaking now. My heart thundered. I could barely breathe.
Finn’s face crumpled under the weight of what he’d kept buried.
“You were supposed to forget forever,” he whispered. “That’s what she said.”
“Who?Liora?”
He nodded. “You don’t understand, Elle. When I met you… yes, I didn’t tell you everything. Because knowing would only hurt you more.”
“Vael called you a broken shifter,” I said, voice low and cutting. “Why?”
His shoulders sank, his gaze falling to the floor.
