Dustin stepped inside, closing the door with deliberate quiet, as though he was already breaking a rule by being there. The faint hum of Katherine’s spell wavered, threads loosening in the charged air.
Crystal pushed herself upright, her palms flat against the mattress to steady the quake in her chest. “Why are you here?” she asked, the words sharper than she intended. Her voice betrayed her, trembling at the edges.
His eyes locked on hers, unflinching, searching—hungry. “I don’t know,” he said finally, his voice rough, gravel scraping against velvet. “I shouldn’t be.”
Her throat tightened. “Then leave.”
The command should have driven him out, but instead he froze, his jaw flexing. He didn’t move toward the door. He didn’t move at all.
Instead, he stepped closer. One step. Then anothe
