Chapter 138 The glamour breaks 3

Chapter 138: Chapter 138 The glamour breaks 3

Talia’s POV

"I will tell him tomorrow," I said.

"I know," Lyra said. "And when you do, everything will change."

I nodded. My body stiffened as the warmth pulsed through me. It was not pain, it was something like anticipation.

Kaelen stirred beside me. His arm tightened around my waist, and his voice was rough with sleep.

"Talia?" he murmured. "What is wrong?"

I turned my head to look at him. His gray eyes were barely open, and his face was soft in the dim light.

"Nothing," I said. "Go back to sleep."

He stared at me for a moment longer. Then he closed his eyes and pulled me closer.

I lay in his arms, with Lyra warm in my chest, and I waited for morning.

The morning light came faster than usual, and it woke me.

Kaelen was already out of bed, pulling on his boots. His shirt was untucked, and his hair was still damp and messy from the shower.

"You are awake," he said.

I sat up. My heart was pounding, but my voice was steady.

"Kaelen," I said. "I need to tell you something."

The words hung in the air between us, heavy, and final, and I could not take them back now.

I cleared my throat, as fear covered my chest. I had started my confession, and there was no turning back. My heart was pounding so loud I was sure he could hear it, and my hands were shaking. But I did not look away.

I held his gaze and waited for him to respond.

He looked up. His gray eyes were curious, but not worried. "Can it wait? I have a meeting with the elders, and I will be back in an hour."

"No." The word came out sharper than I intended. "It cannot wait." I quickly softened the tone of my voice.

He stopped moving. His eyes searched my face, and I saw the shift in his expression. The curiosity faded, and the worry crept in.

"Talia," he said slowly. "What is wrong?"

"Please sit down," I said, almost in a whisper.

He hesitated. Then he walked to the bed and sat on the edge, close enough that his knee touched mine.

"I am listening," he said.

I took a breath. My hands were shaking, my heart was pounding, and Lyra was warm in my chest, steady and strong.

I touched the glamour charm. "The silver necklace I wear every day," I quickly said with a shaky voice, before I would change my mind. "It is not just an ordinary necklace."

His brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

I took another deep breath. "It is a glamour charm that hides my face," I said. "It hides my real face. My mother gave it to me when I was five years old, and she told me never to take it off before my twentieth birthday."

Kaelen’s eyes widened, and his jaw tightened. "Talia..."

"I am not ugly," I quickly added. "I never was. The charm makes me look plain, forgettable, and invisible. But that is not what I really look like."

He stared at me, and his hands were clenched on his knees.

"Why are you telling me this now? And why did you keep it away from me?" he asked.

"Because the third trial is in three days," I said. "I cannot shift while wearing the charm. If I shift, it will break. And if it breaks, everyone will see my real face. I did not want that to happen without you knowing the truth first. And that is the real reason why I cannot shift, not because my wolf is weak.”

I took a deep breath to steady myself, before I continued. “Also, I kept it away from you because I was afraid... that... you would reject me, for not telling you the truth."

He was quiet for a long moment. "And you are still afraid, even after I told you my secret that could cost my life?" he asked.

"Yes." My voice cracked. "I am afraid that you will not want me when you see what I have been hiding."

He stared at me for a while, then he reached out and cupped my face. His thumbs brushed across my cheeks, and his gray eyes were soft.

"Talia," he said. "There is nothing you could show me that would make me not want you."

My eyes burned with tears.

"Show me," he said.

I nodded slowly, wiped my eyes, then I reached up with shaky hands and touched the clasp of the necklace. The silver chain was cool against my fingers, and the charm was warm.

Lyra stirred in my chest. "It is time," she said.

I took a breath, then I opened the clasp. The chain slipped through my fingers and fell onto the bed between us.

Slowly, I felt the glamour fall away.

Then I looked up, and I watched Kaelen’s face as the magic dissolved. His eyes widened, his lips parted, and his breath caught in his throat.

He stared at me like he had never seen me before.

"Talia," he whispered, and he looked like he could not breathe.