**Jax**
The seconds ticked by in silent tension. Finally, Piper, head held high, gracefully crossed the room to stand next to Chloe. My eyebrows rose with surprise. Why hadn't Piper stood with her sisters? That's what I had expected her to do. She barely knew any of us, and she didn't really owe us anything, definitely not anything that would cause her to stand in solidarity with Chloe.
"She's right, Sophie." Piper's voice was soft but unwavering. "We need to tell them."
"Why?" Sabella's shrill voice only added to the tension in the room. "What good will it do?"
"I don't know." Piper shrugged. "Maybe none, but they're our friends. They deserve an explanation, and if you three choose not to give them one, so be it. I'll tell them." She straightened and lifted her head a little higher until it appeared as though she was looking down her nose at them.
Sophie shifted on her feet, her aura bouncing from anger to pride to indecision.