Next to me, Ravyn stirred. “Elspeth.” He squeezed my hand. “You don’t have to—” “Yes,” I said, the word slipping out of me without resistance, so effortless it could be mistaken as nothing other than the truth. I tried to pull my hand from Ravyn’s, but he wouldn’t let me, his thumb scraping over my knuckles. Still, I did not look at him. I cast Ione a bitter glance, her question a violation, ripping something from me I was not yet ready to say.
