My breath left me in a sharp, broken sound.
"No," I said immediately. "That's not true."
The word came out too fast. Too desperate. Like if I said it firmly enough, reality would bend around it.
Maelis didn't flinch.
She didn't look pleased.
She didn't look victorious.
She looked tired.
"They were executed this very nights," she said quietly. "There was no trial."
The cave felt like it shrank.
My hand flew to my stomach as if I could physically hold my insides together. The baby shifted uneasily, reacting to the sudden spike of panic, and that alone nearly undid me.
"You're lying," I whispered. "You're trying to turn me against him."
"If that were my goal," Maelis said calmly, "I wouldn't have waited this long."
My ears rang.
Lydia's hands flashed through my mind, warm oil, careful pressure, the way she had sung under her breath as if afraid silence might swallow her whole.
