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My fingers shook as I reached for the pages.

It all made sense now.

Why the book had been placed on the library floor for me to find.

For this…

I turned the page.

Another passage ruined.

The place he keeps the truth.

My breath caught as I kept turning the pages.

Another page destroyed.

Ask him why he won’t take you there.

The book slipped in my hold.

I stared at the ruined pages. The black ink swallowed every beautiful word beneath it. The story silenced. A vibration broke the silence. My phone.

Unknown.

I stared at the screen.

It vibrated again.

Then…

A message.

He couldn’t answer you.

Another.

You know that now.

My fingers hovered above the screen.

I should’ve blocked the number. Deleted every message. I told Alaric but was it all too late?

Three dots appeared.

Disappeared.

Returned.

Who is he protecting?

I stopped breathing.

Alaric’s face came back to me. The way he looked away. The guilt in his eyes.

Because once you know I can’t protect you from it anymore.

I’d believed him.