Karl fell completely silent, his jaw clenching as the cold, defensive armor he tried to wear began to crack.
Eiravyne couldn't hold his gaze any longer. Her blue eyes dropped to the stone path between them.
"I am s-s-sorry you had to go through a lot of things because of me..." she murmured, her voice trembling.
Karl's sharp violet gaze snapped up, softening with sudden, pained surprise as he looked at her.
But Eiravyne, lost in the shadows of her own self-loathing, didn't see the shift in his eyes.
She turned her head away entirely, the bitter truth slipping out like a brand.
"You were never a freak," she whispered, the raw ache in her tone cutting deep. "I was the only freak in Wandova and you got caught in my mess."
Hearing her use of that word, the cruel, derogatory nickname he had once hurled at them both, he gasped in disbelief: " Eiravyne!"
All of his practiced detachment vanished.
