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I was positive it was her.

“Pri,” Andrues started, his voice low, soft. “Where is Wren?”

“I took him to the Elders,” she snapped, the lines on her face deepening. “I want them to bury him in the tomb of life.”

My brows furrowed as I looked back at her. “Why? Wren wanted to be burned on a Pyre.”

“He changed his mind months ago, we wanted to be buried here together.” She sniffed again, but no tears were flowing.

Unease pricked at the back of my arms as some internal warning flared between my ears.

“Where are all your things?” I asked, the words biting into the air as Andrues glanced at me, disapproval sliding into his eyes.

Pri took a step away from us, her arms folding over her chest. “Mara just helped me move all of it out. She is letting me stay with her so I am not haunted by this house. Why are you interrogating me?” She hissed the question, her eyes narrowing on me as Andrues stepped between us.

I opened my mouth to speak, but Nithra’s deafening roar shattered the sky, drowning out my words. Our eyes snapped to the window as the entire ground convulsed beneath her thunderous landing. Adrenaline surged through me as I shoved past Pri, my hand latching onto Andrues’s with a desperate grip, yanking him from the house with me. A sickening dread began to devour my organs.

I would not leave him alone with her.

We stepped out onto the grass as Cin, Landers, Asrai, and Yenne slipped out of the tether beside Nithra. Dukovich and TheFallen Ones materialized by their side next and I broke into a sprint toward them.

My boots skidded to a stop, slipping on the wet grass as my eyes locked with Cin’s. They were wild, frantic, as she ripped her gaze away from me and turned to the Fallen Ones.

“Royion is gone,” Nantia blurted before any of us could speak. “And Azeyr never came back after we left to rest our dragons.”

A growl slipped from Nithra’s throat, hot smoke coiling from her nostrils as her snout pushed against Cin’s back, a silent conversation passing between them.

“We need to get to the war camps, right now. Nithra’s sisters are already there, but we don’t have much time. Cain is gone, Sashi and Rilius are missing. Mara and the Elders are dead we—”

“What?” I snarled, cutting Cin off as Andrues and I slowly turned to where Pri stood next to Landers. “You said you were just with Mara.”

Pri feigned innocence, tucking herself behind Landers as her brows furrowed.

She was fucking playing us.

“What is going on?” Cin hissed, her eyes darting between the three of us.

“I don’t know, why don’t you tell us, Pri?” I spat, taking a step toward her.

Pri stumbled away from me, her face paling. “I-I was just with her. She was alive when I left her.”

“You’re lying,” the accusation fell from my lips with an edge sharp enough to cut flesh.

“Pri,” Landers started, slowly turning toward her. “You need to tell us exactly what is going on.” His jaw tightened as he said the words and Andrues’s eyes flashed to him.

“You cannot possibly believe she would do this,” Andrues snapped at Landers, horror seeping into his features.

Landers ignored his statement, taking a predatory step toward Pri. “Wren said some things before he died, told us he was compromised.”

My heart seized at his words, a fire bursting to light in my veins as rage coiled around my spine.

Landers’s voice was lethal as he spoke the next words. “If you have something to tell us, you tell us now.”

Pri’s eyes flickered to the edge of the field so fast I almost missed it.

It only took a second.

One single second for her to façade to crumble.