Madison Clarke opened her mouth—
but for a long moment, nothing came out.
This wasn’t the Issac she had once known.
This wasn’t the quiet boy who used to smile softly at her from across the old neighborhood.
This wasn’t the awkward young man who once made promises beneath streetlamps, dreaming naïve dreams of a shared future.
The person before her now was someone else entirely.
Iron-blooded.
Cold-hearted.
Unflinching.
A force carved out of five years of storms and violence.
If she pushed him any further, the consequences would only multiply.
If she continued provoking him, more of her family would die.
She swallowed the agony of losing her father, forcing down the scream clawing at her throat. She fixed Issac with a hateful, icy glare.
“Fine,” she spat. “I’ll tell you. What do
