Madison's apartment felt smaller than it used to.
She stood at her kitchen counter, staring at the acceptance letter from Johns Hopkins that had arrived three days ago—a full scholarship for their accelerated medical program, the opportunity she'd been working toward since freshman year. The letter should have been cause for celebration, champagne with Sarah, calling her parents with the good news.
Instead, it felt like a lifeline thrown to someone who'd been drowning without realizing it.
"You're leaving," Kai said from behind her, his voice carrying the flat certainty of someone who'd already processed the inevitable.
Madison didn't turn around. She'd heard him come in through the window—apparently supernatural beings had different concepts of appropriate entry methods. A week ago, that would have terrified her. Now it just felt like another reminder of the gulf between his world and hers.
