TELL ME THE TRUTH

Elaris's POV

The question hangs between us

Did you touch her final cup?

For several seconds I hear nothing but the sound of fabric shifting and the scratch of a scribe's pen somewhere behind me

Every person in the shrine hall is watching

Not Sennik

Not Virelle

Me

Averic stands several steps away and I can't read what is behind his eyes

I remember another version of this man

The one who once stood between me and Caedmon

The one who told me I did not bow beneath his roof

The one who broke council orders to reach me when smoke filled my chamber

That man is standing in front of me now

But grief has altered the space around him

I lift my chin

If he wants the truth I will give him nothing else

"No."

My voice cuts through the hall

"I did not touch her final cup."

I force myself to say more before anyone can object

"I was not in the private wing. I was already here under council guard when Lady Maevra collapsed."

The scribe is taking every word down

Sennik is watching me

Averic says nothing

I add "I had no access to her medicine after I was moved to the shrine"

That part is documented

There are guards who can attest to it

There are orders bearing the council's seal

My answer is not an appeal

It is a statement of the fact

Averic's eyes hold on mine

It dawns on me he did not ask because he did not have the answer

He asks because he needs to hear it from me

And somehow that hurts more

His next question comes after an agonizing pause

"Why did she ask for you by name?"

The hall feels smaller

I could tell him everything

I could repeat Maevra's final words

I could tell him about how she looked at me when she talked about my child

How she made me understand that she had already begun preparing herself for a future in which she might not be there

But some things belong to Maevra

And some things cannot be proved by a witness who is no longer alive

I answer carefully

"Because she trusted me."

Averic's expression remains unreadable

"She asked for you while she was dying"

"Yes"

"Why you?"

"Because she had spoken to me privately earlier that night"

His eyes narrow slightly

"About what?"

I do not allow the council to pry more from me than I can defend

"About the child"

The scribe pauses

Then returns to writing

I explain that Maevra had affirmed the child I carry

"She knew the child was yours," I say

A few murmurs rise and vanish

Averic does not move

I continue before anyone can twist my words

"She told me what she believed about the child. She wanted me to remain strong."

I do not repeat her instruction to protect the true heir even if it cost political peace

That belongs to the woman who gave it to me

Sennik asks "Did Lady Maevra accuse anyone while speaking to you?"

"No"

"Did she tell you who had harmed her?"

"No"

"Did she give you any instruction concerning her medicine?"

"No"

My answers remain consistent

There is nothing dramatic for the council to seize

No accusation

No secret confession

No convenient name

Only Maevra's trust

And somehow that is exactly what has become suspicious

Averic listens

I watch him carefully

There is grief in the way he holds himself but it is not the grief I saw in him years ago when he spoke about his mother

This is heavier

Final

Maevra is gone

There will be no second conversation

No chance for her to explain what she meant

No opportunity for Averic to ask her why she called for me

Whatever she knew died with her

I almost say his name

Almost tell him that she was afraid

That she wanted him to protect the child

That she trusted him to understand eventuality

But I stop

He is not ready to hear anything that sounds like another demand placed upon him

He has just lost his mother

And I refuse to turn her death into a plea for him to choose me

So I stand quietly while he grieves in front of an entire hall

Sennik steps forward

"Alpha, the preliminary findings remain under review. No formal charge has been laid against either woman."

Averic's attention does not leave me

Sennik continues

"The council's examination of the final dose is incomplete. Testimony remains under consideration, and the movement records have not yet been reconciled."

Averic finally speaks

"I heard you."

The answer is a reply to Sennik but his gaze is on me

Sennik lowers his head slightly

"We should proceed according to the established process."

Averic's fingers curl briefly at his side

Then relax

I understand what Sennik is doing

He is reminding Averic that an Alpha's grief cannot replace evidence

But the reminder does not make the situation safer

It only tells me that the council intends to keep me close enough to question and far enough away from Averic that neither of us can act freely

Virelle speaks from across the hall

"I don't want to make this harder for him."

Her voice is gentle

Carefully broken

She rises with one hand resting against her stomach

"I know what it is to lose someone you love."

The words are directed at Averic

Then she looks towards me

"I also know what fear does to a woman carrying a child."

A guard moves to her side

Virelle accepts the protection without asking

"I don't want anyone else harmed," she says. "Not Lady Maevra. Not the Alpha. Not my child."

Her eyes lower

"If there is another examination, I will submit to it."

She makes it sound like a courageous statement

Selfless

Almost generous

"I have nothing to hide"

I say nothing

She has chosen the exact moment when Averic is most vulnerable

She does not accuse me

She lets the council do that for her

Averic turns towards Virelle

Their eyes meet

Virelle gives him the smallest expression of sympathy

Then he looks back at me

Something has changed

Not anger

Not yet

Something quieter

A door closing

I recognize it because I have seen that expression before

Caedmon wore it the day he decided that my sacrifice meant nothing

The difference is Averic has not accused me

He is still searching for certainty

But he is no longer standing between me and the people who suspect me

He is standing among them

I lower my gaze for the first time

Not because I accept their suspicion

Because I suddenly understand that whatever existed between Averic and me cannot remain untouched by Maevra's death

His mother was the bridge between us

Now she is gone

And every person in this hall is waiting to see what collapses with her

Averic turns towards Sennik

"I will not have this investigation conducted while both women remain together under open access."

Sennik watches him carefully

Averic continues

"Elaris will be returned to secure confinement."

My stomach drops

Sennik asks "Under palace authority or council authority?"

"Council"

The single word lands harder than I expect

Averic is not asking for my protection

He is surrendering control of it

Sennik immediately bows his head

"That can be arranged."

I look at Averic

He still does not look at me

The council has been waiting for him to make a decision

He has given them one

Not a verdict

Not a charge

But something almost as painful

Distance

The order is repeated to the escorts

"Take the second mate to the council holding rooms in the main palace. Full restriction. No private visitors without authorization."

I rise from the stone ledge

My child shifts beneath my hands

I steady my breathing

The council-controlled holding room is not the same as my former chamber

It is separate from the private wing

Separate from Maevra's rooms

Separate from the guest quarters where Averic once promised I could remain as long as I needed

A place designed for someone whose presence is no longer considered safe

Sennik gives further instructions

"Two guards at the door. One inside during medical checks. No unsupervised movement."

I ask "Will my healer be allowed to accompany me?"

"The council will determine which healer has access."

I absorb that quietly

Even my care is no longer mine to choose

Virelle remains seated across the hall, surrounded by more comfort than before

I do not look at her

If she wanted this, she has gotten exactly what she wanted

The guards form around me

Averic remains in the center of the shrine hall

He does not approach

He does not offer his hand

He does not tell them to wait

I take one step

Then another

The distance between us grows without either of us moving

I want him to call my name

He doesn't

I want him to remember the nights he stayed outside my door

He doesn't

I want him to remember that I was beside Maevra because she asked me to be there

Instead, he stands beside the council while I am escorted away

At the doorway I glance back

His eyes are lowered

For one foolish second I wonder whether he cannot bear to watch me leave

Then I understand something worse

He may simply be unable to decide what he believes

And uncertainty, when it comes from the person you trust most, can wound more deeply than an accusation

The guards lead me past him

I stop for the single breath they allow

Averic finally looks up

I do not raise my voice

"I did not kill your mother."

His expression remains still

"And the child I carry is still yours."

Something flickers across his face

Pain.

Conflict.

Then it disappears

I hold his eyes for one final heartbeat

There is no longer the same protection I once knew there

No quiet promise that he will stand between me and the world

Only the terrible possibility that he has begun to believe the world might be right about me

The guard touches my arm

I turn away

Behind me, Virelle's voice rises softly

"Alpha, you shouldn't have to carry this alone."

I keep walking.

The blood moon has disappeared beyond the horizon.

Morning has arrived.

But whatever light it brings cannot reach the space that has opened between Averic and me.

The formal separation has begun.