Lucian couldn’t bear the coldness radiating from Angel; it tore at him, a stark reminder of all he’d lost.
She had been so warm once. Open. Fierce and bright, his to claim. Before he’d ruined it. Before he’d made the single biggest f**k up of his life.
Now she stood a few feet away, yet the emotional distance between them made Lucian feel she was on the other side of the world.
Steel had left her in charge while he went off to fight the darkness gathering in Oldtown. Angel was commanding, sharp, and calm—everything Lucian used to be before the adrenochrome s**t got into his veins and the devil in him took over. He’d spent most of the day trying not to get in her way, watching her work with soldiers, shifters, and scouts, issuing orders like she’d been born for this.
He wanted to be par
