"Serena. Let me explain."
Elara caught the tent flap before it closed.
"First off, I wasn't sure if you were the reason. I wasn't going to put that on your conscience. And we were both just girls when it happened."
Serena gripped the edge of the table, her back to Elara.
"What was he referring to with my blood?"
"I don't know why Garrett cut that off. Your blood was never an issue as far as I knew."
Elara's voice cracked on the last word.
Serena didn't turn around. If she looked at Elara right now, she would either forgive her too quickly or say something she couldn't take back.
"Go freshen up, El."
Long after Elara left, the tent held the particular silence of a room that had just been argued in. Serena stared at the table surface and didn't see it.
She didn't notice that Hyran had entered until he sat down.
"You're brooding," he observed. "I recognize the posture. I invented it."
