Evaline:
River didn't speak, but I could feel his focus on me like a steady current through our bond. His attention never wavered.
I shifted my gaze from Kieran to the witches seated across the firepit and my eyes settled on Morwen.
She was watching me with an unreadable expression.
"So I decided to dig deeper into the matter," I spoke calmly.
The flames crackled softly between us.
"What else did you find?" River's voice was steady as he asked the question, but there was an edge to it now.
The question pulled my gaze back to him. And for a brief moment, I hesitated... not because I doubted the truth, but because I knew what I was about to say would change the entire direction of this conversation.
"A lot," I admitted quietly.
The word settled heavily in the air.
I straightened slightly in my seat and folded my hands over the folder resting in my lap.
"After discovering the purpose of that rune, I started researching when it was last used and when it was officially banned."
