Chapter 248
"Fine."
I let go of her arm and stepped back. The word hung between us like a wall, cold and final.
Lilith's face was pale, her eyes wild. She looked like a cornered animal—back pressed against the bakery wall, chest heaving, fingers clutching her bag as if it were a shield.
I had never seen her like this. Not even during our worst fights. Not even when she had stood in the garden with Minerva, listening to poison.
Something was cracking inside her. I could see it.
"I'm not trying to attack you," I said quietly. "I'm trying to understand."
"Then stop." Her voice cracked. "Just stop."
The baker, Mrs. Samia, had retreated behind the counter, her eyes wide as saucers. Her flour-dusted hands were pressed against her chest. She didn't know what was happening, but she knew enough to stay out of it. The ruined cake samples still lay scattered on the floor, icing smeared across the tiles like bloody snow.
