HAZEL
I didn’t even think. I didn’t even blink. The plate was just suddenly airborne, leaving my hand with this wild, reckless freedom I didn’t even know lived inside me. And for a split second, as it cut through the air, I actually felt good. Liberated. Powerful. Like maybe, finally, I’d gotten one hit in this insane war he was waging on me for no damn reason.
But of course....of course, Axel didn’t flinch. He just tilted his head slightly, like the plate was nothing but a paper aeroplane he’d already predicted the trajectory of. It smashed against the wall behind him, shattering in a rain of porcelain that echoed through the entire room. Pieces fell to the floor like broken teeth.
My chest was heaving. My palms were sweating. My throat felt raw from the scream I hadn’t even released y
