ARYA

"I'm offended by that look on your face. Did you really think I was dumb?" Daxton said, and I blinked at him, my mind reeling.

"If you knew the truth all along, why...why did you keep me alive?" I asked, and he sighed.

"You don't realize it, do you?"

I frowned, blinking in confusion. "Realize what?"

He stared at me for a moment. Then he straightened, wincing slightly as his hand hovered over his wound.

"The hatred that you feel is not entirely yours," he stated.

The more he spoke, ...