"It's time you know the truth," Avanaya said softly, her voice trembling with an emotion Sumaya couldn't quite place.
Sumaya perked up at that, her gaze locking onto her mother's face, searching for anything — any flicker of hesitation, any clue — that this was some sort of test or twisted joke. But Avanaya's eyes held nothing but quiet certainty, and beneath that certainty lay something deeper — regret, perhaps, or fear.
"What if I told you that the world is bigger than you think, and that not everything in it is human?" Avanaya continued, her voice unnervingly calm. "That there is a reason why you and I can heal from any wound inflicted on us."
Sumaya frowned, confusion flickering across her face. What kind of question was that?
