CHAPTER 161: FRACTURE LINES
CELESTE'S POV
The sand felt wrong under my boots.
Too soft. Too deep.
Every step I took sank half an inch more than it should have, like the Hollow had followed us back and was waiting just beneath the surface. The crowd — what was left of them — stared down from the arena stands in brittle silence. Some had fled during the fight. Others… I wasn't sure were even breathing.
My gaze kept sliding to the shadows under the walls, where gold-veined black bone shouldn't exist. I'd brought it here. I knew it without anyone telling me.
Kael was the first to move toward me. His shoulders were tight, his eyes burning like he'd just run a warpath, but he stopped a few paces away. Too far to touch.
"Tell me you didn't agree to anything," he said, low enough only I could hear.
I didn't answer. My throat wouldn't let me. Because if I spoke, the Hollow might answer for me.
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KAEL'S POV
She wouldn't even meet my eyes.
