The council chamber emptied quickly after the revelation. No formal ruling. No demand for exile. Just… stunned silence.
But silence could be loud.
Evelyn walked ahead of Alexander down the marble corridor, her footsteps echoing in sharp, clipped bursts. She didn't turn around. Didn't speak.
Not until they reached the side corridor that led to the west gardens.
Only then did she stop, wheel around, and fix her gaze on him.
"You knew."
Alexander didn't deny it.
"You knew what I was—what she was—and you kept it from me."
"I suspected," he said quietly. "There's a difference."
"No, there isn't." Her voice cracked like flint. "You stood beside me. You said you wanted to protect me. And all this time, you were just managing me."
His expression didn't shift, but his hands curled at his sides. "That's not true."
"Isn't it?" she said. "You talked about trust. You told me to lean on you. But when it mattered most, when it was about me—you decided I didn't need to know."
"I was trying to protect you from the weight of it."
Her eyes burned. "You don't get to choose what burdens I carry."
He stepped closer, but she held her ground. "Evelyn—"
"Did Caelan know?"
That hit its mark. His jaw locked.
"I see."
Alexander's voice dropped. "You think I kept this from you because I didn't care?"
"I think you kept it from me because you cared more about control than honesty."
For a moment, neither of them moved.
Wind rustled through the trees outside the arched window. In the distance, someone laughed faintly—unaware that a bond was unraveling thread by thread in this quiet corridor.
Finally, Alexander said, "I'm leaving the Academy."
Evelyn blinked. "What?"
"I've been summoned back. There are matters that require my attention." His voice was too calm. Too final. "And you need time. Time to choose who you want beside you."
She stared at him. "You think leaving will make that easier?"
"I think staying might make it worse."
"Coward," she said softly.
"I know," he murmured.
A beat passed. Two.
Then Evelyn looked away, her voice colder now. "Go, then."
But as he turned, something flickered in her—something small and sharp and afraid.
Because even when she told him to go…
She hadn't really believed he would.