Steam curled lazily from the surface of the hot spring, wrapping the air in a hazy veil. I sat at the edge, alone, the silence pressing in on me like a weight I couldn’t shake. That was when it finally hit me.
Darius had broken his promise. Again. He and Lyra had already left —without a word, without a glance back—like my presence didn’t matter, like I wasn’t part of this family at all.
The water was hot enough to sting, turning my skin pink, but inside I felt nothing. Just cold. The kind that seeped into your bones and stayed there. I drew in a shaky breath, trying to relax, but the ache in my chest only grew heavier until it was hard to breathe.
Maybe this is it, I thought to myself. Maybe I’m finally done waiting.
Lucy’s voice erupted in my mind, raw and furious. “Rae, stop enduring
