Cassian’s POV
The taste of scotch was still bitter on my tongue, but the taste of Aria was something else entirely, it was a lifeline.
I held her like she was the only thing keeping me grounded in a world that had just moved off its axis. My mother was back, Elena was a ghost of a lie locked in a room upstairs, and my brother was likely currently tearing the library apart in a silent rage. But here, in the shadows of the estate grounds, the only thing that existed was the frantic beat of Aria’s heart against mine.
I pulled back just an inch, my forehead resting against hers. Her breath hitched, a small, broken sound that made me want to go back inside and burn every contract my mother had ever touched.
"You tried to kill me, Cassian," she whispered, her voice trembling, her eyes s
