​🔹️THORNE
I watched her brush a kiss on his forehead once we were done with our daily visit to the infirmary.
​I savored the weight and the feeling of her hand in mine, even if it was just part of the role we were playing—putting up a united front even as tension simmered between us.
​"I will be back as soon as I can tomorrow," she assured him.
​"I'll be here," he returned, his smile so bright it single-handedly lit up the dreary infirmary.
​We stepped out into the hall, the heavy door thudding shut behind us and severing the warmth of the room. The silence of the corridor felt like a physical weight, pressing in on the space where our joined hands still clung together.
​She dropped my hand.
​Without a word, she resumed our new status quo—she walked away.
​Umbra whined, a pitiful sound that grated against my ribs.
Go after her.
​I didn't move.
​She's upset. You hurt her.
​"I know," I muttered under my breath.
Then fix it.
