Chapter 70

Briar’s POV

I didn’t know what to say. Or where to even start. Everything felt raw, like picking at wounds that hadn’t fully healed yet. Lizabella stood across from me, her eyes blazing, confusion and anger flickering over her face like wildfire. Her fists were clenched at her sides, the way she always did when she was trying to hold back something big.

"Briar," she said, voice tight, wounded, "you owe me an explanation. I’m your best friend—at least I thought I was. How the hell can you keep secrets from me like this? After everything we’ve been through, after all these years?"

"Liz," I tried, my voice hoarse and tired. "It’s not that simple."

"Not that simple?" she echoed sharply, disbelief shaking her voice. She took a step closer, glaring at the three kings who stood silently behind me. Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Ever since these—men—came into your life, you’ve been pulling away. Hiding th