The stare-down commenced, with Chaz’s eyes trailing over Rían, tracking any sort of evidence of Dasianu peeking out. He understood the púca’s wariness. What he had allowed to happen, with the god taking over his body, was inexcusable. He should have been stronger. Should have caught the signs that he was losing his grip on the powerful entity. Never again.
But the damage was already done. And not just the physical assault on Queen Journee, but also their friendship. Pain, injuries… those could be fixed with medicine and time. But relationship damage always cut deeper, took much longer to heal. And sometimes that shít never healed.
“Look, Chaz, I’m sor—” Rían began, but Chaz held up his hand, dismissing the apology. Now wasn’t the time. Perhaps he was still teetering on the edge of lockin
