[Draven].
I stayed quiet for a long time after that.
Fifteen minutes, maybe more, passed with Meredith filling the silence carefully, cautiously—revealing a few more fragments here and there.
More details about her abilities. How Valmora instructed and guided her to do some things.
And yet, I wasn't at peace. I didn't feel relieved or settled.
There was a hollow place in my chest that refused to close, a sharp awareness that something between us had shifted.
It felt wrong to admit it even to myself, but the truth pressed harder the longer I sat with it. I wasn't satisfied.
It wasn't anger—not exactly. It was worse than that. It was the slow, unsettling realization that I no longer fully trusted the woman sitting in front of me.
The thought tasted bitter.
I studied her without meaning to. The way she sat on the rock, shoulders slightly tense. The way her fingers curled into the fabric of her dress, then loosened, then curled again. And suddenly, I knew.
