Nova Pov-
The air between us was molten. Damien's words still dripped into my bones, hot and poisonous.
He stood too close, eyes burning through me like he could see the things I buried deepest.
"You don't belong here, Sinclair," he murmured, voice so low it vibrated against my skin without touching me. "You can claw, you can fight, you can spit fire at me all night—but in the end, you'll break. They all do."
My nails dug into my palms. "I'll prove you wrong."
"Prove it?" His smirk cut deeper. "You're not proving anything. You're trembling. You're already on the verge of begging."
"I hate you," I bit out, even as my throat betrayed me—tight, breathless.
He tilted his head, studying me like prey. "Hate is just hunger with sharper teeth." His gaze dropped, slow and merciless, down the curve of my body. "And you're starving, Sinclair."
