I took a sharp step back, breath caught in my throat and my heart was thundering, not from fear no, not exactly but from something rawer. More exposed. My instincts screamed to run, to cloak myself again in the illusion I had worn like armor for years.
But she moved before I could and she stepped forward and placed both firsthand my chest, not harsh, not forceful, but firm. Grounding. Her fingers curled slightly in my shirt as she looked up at me, and the vampire in her eyes had quieted. What was left was just her. That impossible, wild woman who saw through everything I had built.
I stiffened. "Qadira, don't—"
She held me in place, eyes searching mine, and shook her head gently. "I will not tell a soul, "She said softly. "Your truth stays with me."
