Violet
"You didn't fail," I said firmly. "What happened to you wasn't your fault. Rowan—" I caught myself, the name slipping out too easily. "Lord Rowan did something you couldn't have resisted…" I clutched my wrist, lowering my eyes. "No one could have."
Bei's expression darkened slightly. "We figured as much. Telsid explained some of it when we arrived. But it still doesn't sit right." She shook her head slowly. "One moment we were with you, and the next we were running through the Silverwood with no idea how we got here."
"It's been eating at us," Ana added quietly. "It was like we abandoned you out there. And despite what we were told by their beta…"
"Please, don't say that." I looked up to meet Ana's gaze. "You didn't abandon me, especially not by your own will."
Corin didn't look convinced, but some of the tension in his shoulders eased slightly.
Bei studied me.
"What happened out there, Violet?" she asked. "After we... left. And why are you here now? With him?"
