The rain hadn’t stopped.
Water slid down the glass in restless streams, shadows pooling across the floorboards of my room. I lay on my side, one hand tucked under my head, the other curled against the inside of my elbow. The quiet should’ve soothed me, but my chest still felt raw, scraped open.
I kept replaying his voice in the dark.
It’s not your fault.
The memory pulled me back—
Flashback
“It’s not your fault,” Alaric said, searching my eyes.
“It is.” My voice broke on the words. “It’s all my fault. Everything she said is true. I brought whatever it is here. It slipped into the living world because of me. I’m the reason her sister is dead.”
A sob clawed out of my throat. Rain plastered his hair across his face, water cutting sharp lines down his cheekbones.
He didn’t move, only
