Raiden’s POV
The air in the sensory lounge remained aggressively thick with the sharp scent of ozone and the faint, sweet trace of violet magic that Callie had left in her wake. The room felt empty, hollowed out by her absence.
The absolute silence that followed the heavy click of the door shutting was a physical weight, pressing against my eardrums and making the raw plasma in my veins hum with a restless, jagged edge.
I stood there for a long moment, my hands still feeling the ghost of her waist and the lingering heat of her skin, completely unable to shake the terrifying, beautiful way she had just reached straight into my chest and pulled out three centuries of my own private hell.
“Well,” Ace drawled, breaking the tension as the silver blade of his knife caught the dim light, spin
