"She's alive," he muttered, not meeting my eyes. "Barely."
The wool still smelled like her like wild mint and stubbornness. I clutched it to my chest, my vision blurring.
Jax's knuckles brushed my tear-streaked cheek. "Don't make me regret this."
Then he was gone, leaving me drowning in hope and guilt.
That night, I dreamed of Mira's face in the dungeon.
"You like it," she'd whispered. "Don't lie."
I woke gasping, my skin on fire.
Kael was there before I could scream, hauling me against his chest. "Breathe," he ordered, his palm flat between my shoulder blades.
I hated how safe I felt.
Hated how my tears soaked his tunic.
Hated how his lips pressed to my hair not in victory, but in something dangerously close to comfort. The first time I noticed Riven watching me sleep, I thought I had imagined it.
