LUCY
"Yes, they are, Lu. Karma certainly arrived right on time."
Amara's words pull a small smile from me. Because karma did arrive. It arrived quietly, patiently, and with impeccable timing.
What better way to begin my morning than watching Mina scrub my floors, bent over with a bucket and rag, finally tasting a fraction of the humiliation she once planned to serve so free to me?
Funny how life works.
I bite my lip, my smile fading slightly. For all the satisfaction this moment brings, there is still one matter left unresolved.
The Ashkaran prince, and the lie he told, which sits in my chest like a swallowed splinter.
I look around the room—Amara's open face, Jaxl's loyalty, Tavric watching me with that quiet, unshakable attention—and I decide. No more secrets. Not unless absolutely necessary. The last one I kept had landed me in a filthy prison cell.
"There's something else," I say.
Three sets of eyes come to me at once, and my mouth goes dry.
