[Killian]
The rain hammers the car windows like it's trying to break in, turning the city lights into smeared streaks of gold and red. Liam's driving, his grip on the wheel steady as ever, but I can feel his eyes flicking to the rearview mirror every few seconds.
My hands rest on my knees, but they're not steady. Not the violent tremors from the panic attack—that black void that had dragged me under, same as it had for twenty goddamn years. No, this is different. A low burn in my chest, embers I refuse to fan into flame.
I replay it, unbidden. Thunder cracking like a whip. The power snapping out, plunging us into that suffocating dark. The door jamming shut, trapping me in a space too small, too close, the walls pressing in like the basement from my nightmares. That abyss opening wide,
