A Tainted Secret

Kaia's POV

I didn't go to my room after leaving Bastian.

I couldn't.

If I stayed alone too long, I would think—too much, too deeply, too dangerously—and my tears were already close to spilling again. My chest felt tight, my throat felt raw, and every breath came with the weight of the secret lodged beneath my ribs.

Nymira was quiet now, perhaps giving me space.

But the silence only mad