POV: Rena
The world felt too bright, too loud, and entirely too heavy.
Ever since Tristan’s lips had touched mine in the library, the static in my head hadn't stopped. It wasn't just the memory of the kiss—though that burned in my mind like a brand—it was the physical sensation that followed. My skin felt tight, as if I were outgrowing my own body, and the air around me seemed to thrum with a frequency I couldn't name.
Tristan had insisted I rest in his chambers. He was out now, standing before the Council to answer for the "assault" in the dining hall, leaving me alone in the vast, stone-walled room.
I sat on the edge of the bed, my feet tucked under me. I looked at my hands. The moon-lily salve had healed the raw cracks from the lye, but the skin there looked... different. In the dim
