(Nova POV)
The announcement didn't just break something inside me.
It hollowed me out.
I heard it from the back of the great hall—Damien's voice, low and steady, saying "Yes" like it was nothing. Like it didn't cost him anything. Like it didn't cost me everything.
I didn't cry in front of them.
I didn't run.
I just turned and walked out.
Past the whispering students.
Past the guards who pretended not to notice.
Past the banners of the Blackwood wolf that suddenly looked like they were baring their teeth at me.
I made it to my dorm room before the tears came.
Then I locked the door, sank to the floor with my back against it, and let the bond tear me open.
It flared—sharp, hot, agonizing—like someone had reached into my chest and twisted. I felt him. Felt his guilt. Felt his demon raging under his skin, clawing to get out. Felt his longing—dark, desperate, helpless—like a hand reaching for me across a chasm he'd helped create.
I hated that I still felt it.
