The silence stretched between them, thick with unspoken words.
Elias glanced at Lila, at the way she stood there, solid and whole, as if she had always been meant to walk beside him.
And yet, he couldn’t shake the truth that had burned itself into his mind the moment he had seen her.
She was part of the Spire, just as he had been.
The only reason she was standing here was because of the song.
And now that it was broken…
Elias’s stomach twisted. “Lila.”
She lifted an eyebrow. “You always get that look when you’re about to ruin a perfectly good moment.”
He didn’t smile. “What happens to you now?”
For the first time since she had appeared, her expression flickered.
Elias saw it then; the hesitation, the shadow of doubt behind her sharp wit.
Lila exhaled. “I don’t know.”