***
Adaria didn’t know how far she ran. All she knew was that one moment she could hear Nero yelling her name behind her, and the next she was standing at the bank of the river.
Her legs were burning underneath her, and her lungs felt like they would burst at any moment. But nothing could compare to the ache in her heart, a savage burning that made her want to scream in agony.
How could Nero do this to her? How could he say that to her, right after she’d made herself so vulnerable in his arms? When she’d let him kiss her, even daring to kiss him back, something had sparked in her; a wildfire, which burned every part of her. She didn’t realize she could ever feel that way, especially not towards a man. But Nero had changed that, and he’d awakened a part of her that she’d thought didn’t
