~Kaeren~
The door to Waverly's suite felt like a guillotine dropping on the fragile neck of my composure as I stepped out. I stood in the hallway, my chest heaving, the scent of her—that infuriating mix of wild rain and something soft was rampaging through my senses.
I was fuming. Not just at her stubbornness, but at the way my own blood turned to liquid fire whenever she looked at me with those defiant, broken eyes.
"You pushed her too hard. She is wounded, and you treat her like a soldier in a war she didn't ask to fight. She smells of fear, Kaeren. And it's your fault." Vane mumbled angrily.
Shut up, I snarled internally. I'm keeping her alive. That's more than anyone else in this godforsaken palace is doing.
I turned to leave when I nearly collided with Rose. She was standing a few feet away, her hands twisted in the fabric of her pink dress. It stung to see her face pale. She had clearly been waiting for me to emerge from the lion's den.
