The forest was silent, except for the crunch of leaves under the wheels of my chair. The air smelled of damp earth and old wood, but I couldn’t find the peace this place used to bring me.
Not today.
Not with the fury burning inside me.
I saw him before he saw me. He was standing in the clearing, the same one where we used to train together, his arms crossed, his gaze lost among the trees. He looked like he was wrestling with something deep inside, but I didn’t care. Not anymore.
“Lucian,” I called, my voice slicing through the air like a knife.
He turned slowly. His expression, first surprised, hardened in a second, but he couldn’t hide the tension in his eyes.
“Elise…” he began, but I didn’t let him continue.
“No. Don’t talk to me like nothing is happening.” My voice trembled, but
