SERAPHINA’S POV
The moment my gaze landed on him, the good mood I’d fought so hard for scattered like startled birds.
It was almost cruel, how quickly the lightness in my chest dimmed.
One second, I’d been clutching Daniel’s memory close, imagining the way his laughter might sound if he were here with me, and the next—there was Kieran.
Other than that ridiculous drunken phone call and the brief clash in Celeste’s hospital room, I’d been doing really well with avoiding Kieran, and I wasn’t interested in breaking that streak anytime soon.
I pivoted slightly, intent on leaving and vanishing back into the quiet of the trees. That was when his voice carried across the park.
“Sera.”
I froze. Something in his tone—steady, gentle, almost…careful—made my stomach turn. I should have kept walking, but against my better judgment, I looked back.
He had stood from the bench, his hands shoved into the pockets of his jacket, shoulders slightly hunched.
