The moment I finished speaking, both of them looked at me.
Their eyes stayed on my face, sharp and searching.
"Why would you think that?" Julian asked.
I let out a slow breath. My chest felt tight, like something was pressing from the inside.
"If Camilla was only jealous," I said, "and killed me because of that, I could understand it. Hatred makes people reckless."
My fingers curled against my palm.
"But why strip me?" I continued softly. "Why break every bone? Why couldn't I have been left whole?"
The memory rose without warning.
"I remember it clearly," I said. "My body was in that stone chamber. I was laid out there. Then more people came. I saw them. One of them was an Auntarian man."
The room went quiet.
Lewis's brows pulled together. His presence shifted subtle, controlled, but heavier than before.
