Jasmine's POV
The words didn't register at first. They bounced off my ears like water hitting stone.
"What?" The question came out as barely a whisper.
My brain refused to accept what I thought I heard. I stared at Palmer's mouth, watching his lips move, but the meaning wouldn't sink in. Everything felt muted, distant, like I was underwater.
Palmer and Lina looked at each other. Their faces held something that made my stomach clench. I waited for one of them to laugh, to tell me this was all some terrible mistake.
Nobody laughed.
"Jayden took the children," Palmer repeated, each word deliberate and careful. "He brought them to the other realm."
The world tilted sideways.
"No." I shook my head so hard my neck ached. "That's impossible. He wouldn't do that. He can't do that."
But Lina's face had gone white as paper. Her eyes were wide and filled with something that looked like terror. She wasn't correcting him. She wasn't telling me this was all wrong.
