The rain lashed against my skin, a relentless force that chilled me to the bone. Water clung to my lashes, blurring the night sky into streaks of silver and black. The wind howled, tearing through my damp clothes, but the cold wasn’t what unsettled me.
It was him.
Demetri’s arms were wrapped around me, his warmth pressing into my back as he shielded me from the storm. Each breath he exhaled sent heat ghosting over my shoulder, a cruel contrast to the ice curling in my chest.
I wanted to pull away. I should have.
But my body betrayed me, responding instinctively to the warmth, to the familiar strength. My fingers dug into Fremor’s scales, grounding myself, forcing my mind to remember why I couldn’t let this comfort fool me.
He is the reason I lost everything.
A fresh wave of emotion c
