[ Adora feels a tightening in her throat, but she nods, trying to do as Ciri says and ignore them. In everything that happened, she never really had the chance to process Light Hope's corruption and last-second redemption, all of the lies that built up to that moment. Tears feel imminent in the back of her throat, but she swallows them back. ]

Thank you.

[ Her voice is husky and she takes a deep breath, finally meeting Ciri's eyes once she's standing. After letting it out, she rubs her hands over her face. ]

No one's ever heard that before. It was just the two of us. Not even my best friends know, I've never told them, I wanted to protect them from knowing what it took to keep them safe.

[ Not that it had mattered in the end, but at the time she thought she was helping. ]