Chapter 287

Elara's POV

I clenched my fists at my sides, my voice low but sharp as a blade.

"Don't lie to me, Zarek. Don't forget—you once promised me that as long as I asked, you would always tell me the truth. No deceit. No concealment."

His lips pressed into a thin line, his jaw working as if the words were stones caught in his throat. For a long, suffocating moment, silence stretched between us. Then, fin