POV: Liam

I stared at Jake, my best friend, my brother in everything but blood and felt something inside me die.

"Freshman year?" The words came out strangled. "You've been spying on me since freshman year?"

Jake couldn't meet my eyes. "Sarah came to me after she faked her death. Explained what she was really doing, why it mattered. Project Phoenix needed people on the inside. Students who could monitor potential psychic awakening without raising suspicion."

"So you used me." My hands clenched into fists. "Every time I talked to you about Maya. Every secret I shared. Every vulnerable moment. You were gathering intelligence."

"I was doing my job."

"YOUR...