Chapter 161

Chapter Fifty-Seven Simon POV The world blurred into fire and steel. Claws raked the air, bodies slammed against stone, the shouts of my warriors filling the clearing, yet all I could hear was her voice echoing inside me. The words she had confessed before the ambush struck. Words that cut deeper than any blade. She had carried this secret all along. And I, Fool that I was, had believed I knew every scar, every shadow she bore. I had promised myself there was nothing about Aisha left to uncover, nothing that could surprise me after all we had endured. But she had kept this from me. My chest constricted even as my body moved on instinct, parrying a lunge, crushing a throat beneath my palm. Blood sprayed, hot and sharp, but I barely registered it. My mind was at war with itself, more dangerous than the enemies pressing us. Why hadn’t she told me? Didn’t she trust me? Or worse,did she believe I couldn’t handle the truth? “Simon behind you!” Renik’s shout cut through my haze. I spun, blade