The room shifted again. Not tense. Not heavy. Just honest in a way Armen wasn’t used to from strangers—especially not from someone like her.
He changed the subject quickly. “Your phone should be working now.”
Zarin nodded slowly. Her fingers brushed the device, but she didn’t pick it up.
“You don’t want to call them,” Armen said before he could stop himself.
Her eyes lifted to his.
For a second, the distance between their worlds disappeared.
“No,” she admitted.
Mehair looked between them, confused. “Why not?”
Zarin hesitated. Then she did something unexpected again.
She told the truth.