The purple light fades from Ella's eyes, leaving her feeling hollow and raw, like a shell that's been cracked open and emptied. She slides down the grimy wall until she's sitting on the cold linoleum floor, her knees drawn up to her chest as the magnitude of everything crashes over her in waves.
She's not human. She's never been human. Everything she thought she knew about herself, about her life, about her very identity is built on lies carefully constructed by the people she trusted most.
"I know it's overwhelming," Kael says softly, moving to crouch beside her with careful, non-threatening movements. His storm-gray eyes have returned to their normal color, but there's still an otherworldly quality to him that she can no longer unsee. "We've had centuries to understand what we are. You
