LUCA
I had been pacing my living room for almost half an hour without realizing how many times I had crossed the same space. Nothing in the apartment could distract me, not the television, not the half-opened book on the table, not even the training schedule Darrel sent earlier. My mind kept going back to the way Aria had looked yesterday, tired in a way that went beneath the skin, as though the day had drained something deeper than her energy.
I told myself I should stop thinking about her, that it was unwise to let the bond pull me around like this, but the more I tried to shut the thoughts away, the stronger they became.
Then the soft metallic creak of the compound gate opening came.
My body reacted before my thoughts did. I went straight to the window, pulled the curtain open just
