Emma
For a long moment after Lucian finished speaking, I just listened to the soft tick of the clock and the distant hush of wind against the windows, trying to force my lungs to work around the tightness in my chest.
“There’s… something I have to tell you,” I said finally.
My voice sounded wrong—thin and frayed, like it barely belonged to me.
Lucian, who’d been watching me with that steady, unnervingly gentle focus, straightened just a little. “Anything,” he said immediately. “Whatever it is, you’re safe to say it here.”
Safe.
The word wobbled in my chest.
I curled my fingers tighter in the blanket, staring at the weave so I didn’t have to look at him while I ripped the scab off.
“While I was hiding,” I said, pushing the admission out like broken glass. “In that supply room. I hea
