Page 174 of Captive of Secrets and Storms

I release a long, heavy sigh, then say, “I’m listening.”

Hali searches my face. For what? I’m not sure. But whatever she sees has her taking a deep breath. Then⁠—

“I want to leave Virendrell.”

I rear back.

Of the things I thought she’d say, that was certainly not it.

“Okay…” I search her gaze. “What’s stopping you?”

Piercing brown eyes bore into mine. “Have you noticed all the children?”

“Around the palace?”

“Yes.” The word lands heavy with meaning I don’t yet understand. “Have you ever wondered why they’re here?”

My mind flashes to laughing children racing around the contests. To the line of school-aged kids and the stern man keeping them in order.

“I have,” I admit carefully.

“And where their parents are?” she presses.

I frown. “No… I assumed they were here enjoying the celebrations.”

Hali snorts. “Oh, their parents are here. But they are not enjoying anything.”

Warning flares in my mind, telling me I’m balanced on a cliff’s edge of a truth that will shove me forward. There will be no crawling back into ignorance.

And yet, I ask, “What do you mean?”

The strain melts from her expression, replaced by a look that suggests things have gone exactly as she'd hoped.

My still-healing power coils tight, bracing itself and me for what comes next.

Hali inclines her head with a sigh.

Then she tells me everything.

31

Every word that leaves Hali’s mouth lands like a blow, cracking the fragile understanding I had of Virendrell.

The horrific deeds carried out by the leaders of this country are unthinkable… unbearable. It’s impossible to reconcile them with the gleaming palace around us.

And yet something fierce ignites in my chest, answering my rage before I can temper it. Not for myself, but for Hali. For every soul trapped behind Virendrell’s beautiful lies.

“So,” Hali murmurs, rocking back on her heels and lacing her hands behind her back. “There it is. The truth of my homeland. The part no one likes to say out loud.”

My hands tremble. Not with fear, but with the injustice of it. With the knowledge of what these glittering walls conceal.

My magic screams to act, to do something, anything.

And to think…I thought the Elders in Verdanthia were cruel. But they never did anything like this.

“I’m so sorry, Hali.”

Her jaw tightens. “I don’t need pity. I need help.”