She said as little as she could, and that was enough. Sitting on the hospital bed, with cold sheets sticking to her skin, which still burned inside, Luara looked at her parents and said only what served her defense: Rayder betrayed her. She didn't give details, didn't reenact the scene, didn't offer images for anyone to chew on as if it were a spectacle. Her voice was low, firm, measured — because there was strength in that selective silence.

“He betrayed me,” she said. “I'm ...