The distance between them was barely three feet. Yet it felt like standing at the edge of a cliff. One step was all Elena had taken. A step closer to Lucien. To something neither of them could stop anymore. The gallery fell silent. Even the dust drifting through the sunlight seemed frozen. Lucien didn't move.
His silver eyes remained fixed on her.
"Elena."
Her name sounded different in his lips now.
As though speaking it physically hurt him.
For the first time since meeting him, she wasn't interested in running away. She was tired of fear, being in the dark pool of vampire secrets. Tired of watching him suffer alone.
"You've blamed yourself for two hundred years."
The words emerged softly. Lucien's jaw hardened.
"You don't understand."
"Then explain it to me."
His gaze darkened.
