She took a breath, then another. "Things are… bad."
Finn stiffened. "Bad how?"
She hesitated, fingers twisting together in her lap. "Alaric doesn't talk to me anymore. Not really. He looks at me like he doesn't know me. Like I've disappointed him beyond repair."
Finn swore under his breath.
Aidan's expression darkened. "What happened?"
"He thinks I lied to him," Daphne said. "About something important."
Finn scoffed. "You? Lying?"
She gave a broken laugh. "Apparently."
Aidan waited. "About what?"
She hesitated again, then sighed. "The Architect."
Both men went still.
Finn's eyes widened. "The same one?"
"Yes."
Aidan rubbed a hand over his face. "And Alaric knows?"
"He knows enough," Daphne said. "Enough to stop trusting me."
Finn shook his head. "That man's jealousy will be the end of him."
"Finn," Aidan warned.
"What? It's true."
Aidan studied her for a moment, then asked gently, "Tell us about the Architect."
Daphne's shoulders tensed. "He… he visits me."
