-LILIAN-
The morning after my defiant act in Alexander's chambers dawned cold and sharp. I awoke on the sofa, my body stiff but strangely light. He was still by the wall, a silent, tormented shadow. The air was thick with the lingering scent of our battle, his despair, and my own defiant triumph.
He didn't speak. He didn't look at me directly. The bond thrummed with his raw pain, but also with a new, chilling distance. He was hurt. Deeply. More than I had ever hurt him before. And that was exactly what I wanted.
He finally moved, pushing off the wall, his powerful body stiff. He walked to the bolted door, his back to me. The heavy bolt scraped open with a dull thud. He pulled the door open, a dark, silent silhouette against the morning light filtering from the hallway.
He paused, then
