Qat felt the weight of the choice Elua had left entirely in her hands. She always had. Since they were young, the illusionist had stressed how the timing of any reveal would always be up to the Yecine member herself.
To trust others or maintain the deception that had defined her entire life - her understanding of this had built from an ocean of expectation toward something with shape. Something constantly hanging from her shoulders like a cloak. An item that could be removed if she willed.
She thought of her father's faction, of planted agents and forged documents about her birth. Of the body double who might still be alive somewhere, possibly carrying knowledge that could reveal the lie she'd gone along with. Of the possibility that she would be reacting defensively instead of pushing through with a swing she chose to take.
"The kind of secret that could cost me everything if revealed at the wrong time. Or by the wrong people."
