The audacity of Zariel's claim hung heavy, a suffocating blanket in the tense air. A stunned silence gripped the group, each mind grappling with the outrageous implications.
Lailah, usually an island of calm, could only gape at Zariel. Her composure lay in shattered pieces around her, replaced by a raw mixture of disbelief and something akin to longing. Gazing into those unnervingly bright eyes, she found no flicker of deception. He was desperate and undeniably cunning, but beneath it all, a sliver of truth resonated. There was no advantage to be gained in a lie of this magnitude, not about her.
Cindy, however, felt a dangerous tendril of temptation uncoil in her gut. Eve had been more than a friend; a sister in the trenches. The thought of seeing her again…
"Explain yourself, Zariel," Cindy pressed, the words a low, controlled demand edged with a sliver of hope.