"The best lies are the ones that are almost true. The second best are the ones that make people feel sorry for you." — Phantom’s Echo, Deception Manual (Chapter 3)
***
Damn it.
Damn her stupid [Vital Sight] skill.
Damn for not factoring in that a healer would be able to literally see through my performance.
I let silence stretch between us. Let my face crumple into sothing that looked like sha. Let my shoulders slump.
Marcus and Thomlin were watching us now. They’d sensed the tension that had suddenly filled the cramped tunnel. I could see doubt creeping into their expressions. Questions forming behind their eyes that I couldn’t afford to let them voice.
Ti to pull out the big guns.
"I am terrified," I admitted. Let my voice tremble with vulnerability that I hoped would register on whatever internal monitor she was using. "More terrified than I’ve ever been in my life. But you know what terrifies more than dying in these tunnels?"
I paused. Let the question hang in the musty air between us. Let the silence build until even Marcus stopped flipping through his manual.
"Going back to the academy as the only survivor." The words ca out rough. Scraped raw with emotion I didn’t entirely have to fake. "Explaining to Professor De Clare how I lived while my teammates died because I was too scared to help. Standing in front of the entire house while she asks what happened. Why I couldn’t protect anyone."
I let my shoulders slump. Let my gaze drop to the stone floor.
"Having to face my father when he learns I failed again. That I was the coward who couldn’t protect his team. Who let people die while he cowered in a corner." A bitter laugh escaped my throat. Dark and self-deprecating. "Living up to everyone’s expectations. Being exactly the disappointnt they all already think I am."
The lie tasted bitter on my tongue.
Mixed with dust and stale air until I could barely distinguish the truth from the performance anymore.
But I could see it working. The suspicion in Seraphina’s eyes softened into sothing that might have been sympathy. Or at least uncertainty. A hesitation where there had been conviction.
That was all I needed.
Doubt was all I needed to plant.
"So yes, my vital signs are steady," I continued. Lowered my gaze in what appeared to be sha. Let my voice grow quieter until they had to lean in to hear . "Because I’ve already accepted that I’m probably going to die down here. I made my peace with it about ten minutes ago when I saw those cracks spreading. The only question is whether I die trying to save my team or die cowering in a corner. Living up to everyone’s expectations of pathetic Kaelen Leone."
Hook. Line. Sinker.
Thomlin cleared his throat awkwardly. Shifted his weight from one foot to the other like a man who’d stumbled into soone else’s confession and didn’t know where to look. "That’s... actually brave, Kaelen. In a ssed-up way. Really ssed-up, but still."
"It’s stupid," Marcus muttered. But I caught the subtle shift in his expression. That flicker of grudging respect that told my performance had landed exactly where I wanted it. He was already reconsidering his assessnt of . Already filing this mont away as evidence that maybe the Leone spare wasn’t quite as useless as everyone assud. "Needlessly reckless and not at all in accordance with proper safety protocols. But... not cowardly, I suppose."
Got him too.
Seraphina remained silent for a long mont. Those gray eyes were unreadable as a winter sky. Studying with an intensity that made my skin itch.
Co on. Buy it. Just buy it long enough for to get through that crack and disappear.
"Fine," she said finally. The word hung between us like a fragile truce. Like a bridge neither of us quite trusted to hold weight. "Go. Scout the passage. But Kaelen..."
She stepped even closer. Close enough that her presence filled my entire field of vision. Close enough that I could count the individual strands of silver in her hair. The scent of elderflower and that sharper dicinal note wrapped around us both.
"Find what you’re really looking for."
"I’m looking for a way out," I said. t her gaze without flinching. Let just enough earnestness seep into my voice to sound genuine. "Sa as everyone else."
"Of course you are." The ghost of a smile touched her lips. There and gone so fast I almost missed it. "We’ll wait here. Try not to get lost..." She paused. That smile returned, sharper this ti. "Or found."
That last word lingered between us.
Heavy with implication.
She knew sothing. Maybe not everything. Maybe not even most of it. But she knew enough to be dangerous. Enough to be watching.
Note to self: figure out how to deal with Seraphina Valois before she becos a real problem.
Preferably without having to silence her permanently.
That seems like it would be complicated.
Also morally questionable.
Mostly complicated.
I turned toward the fissure. Ran my fingers along its jagged edges. The crack was wider than it appeared at first glance. The stone worn smooth in places where water had once flowed through. Just narrow enough to require so creative squeezing.
Soone of my build could fit through without too much trouble. Soone with my current stats could probably force their way through even if the fit was tight.
"If I’m not back in an hour," I said over my shoulder. Let my voice sound brave and resigned at the sa ti. "Seal this crack and find another way out. Don’t risk the team trying to follow through an unstable passage. Promise that much."
"We’re not leaving you behind," Thomlin said firmly. His voice echoed slightly in the confined space. "That’s not how teams work. That’s not how any of this works."
Yes, you are.
Because that’s exactly what I need you to do.
Because I’m not planning to co back this way, and you following would complicate everything.
"Just... be smart about it," I said. Let reluctant resignation fill my voice. The tone of soone who wanted to argue but knew they’d already lost. "If this passage leads nowhere, I’ll co back and we’ll figure sothing else out. If it leads to danger, you’ll hear scream. If you don’t hear anything..."
I trailed off. Let them fill in the blanks.
"One hour," Seraphina said. "Then we co looking. Whether you want us to or not."
Damn it.
Why couldn’t she just be a normal healer who followed orders and didn’t ask questions?
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