[Meredith].
For a brief, horrifying second, an image crossed my mind—Xamira pushing her nanny over the balcony, but I rejected it immediately.
That didn't fit. Not with what I knew of her. Not with the child who curled into my side and asked me to draw with her.
'No,' I said softly to myself, shaking my head. 'It wasn't like that.'
Then, I looked back at Draven. "Xamira might be human," I continued, my voice steadier than I felt, "but there is something else she is. Something shocking enough that her nanny saw it… and couldn't believe it."
Something so impossible that fear stole her breath before she could even scream.
Silence fell between us. It stretched heavily, layered with things neither of us wanted to say out loud yet.
Draven finally shook his head, running a hand through his hair. "I don't even know what to believe anymore," he admitted.
I didn't blame him. After another moment, he straightened, resolve settling into his expression.
