A single word, uttered in her feverish delirium, struck him with the force of a physical blow: "Return."
Mathias felt the air leave his lungs. Return? To a cage? When had she ever truly been free? A sudden, sharp confusion pierced through his composure.
"What are you saying, Olivia?" he demanded, his voice trembling with a gravity he hadn't intended.
"What do you mean, 'once more'? What are you—"
"And why does it concern you?" she interrupted, her voice a jagged edge of cynicism.
"You speak as though you care, yet your every action screams the opposite."
Mathias exhaled a ragged sigh, his gaze drifting to the lifeless, pale figure upon the bed. A knot of cold grief tightened in his chest.
Olivia caught the direction of his eyes, and a ghost of a whisper escaped her lips, meant only for herself.
I wanted to be better for him, she thought, the realization tasting like ash. But what is the point? My presence only drags him further into the mire.
