I didn’t sleep.
Not because of the fire whispering in tongues older than language.
Not because Kaelen’s voice still echoed in my bones.
Not because Asher paced outside the door like a predator trying not to break something precious.
I didn’t sleep because everything inside me was unraveling. Every memory I did have felt fragile now. Painted over. Glued together with someone else’s version of truth. Asher’s.
He erased you, Kaelen had said. And left only what served him.
What did I do, when I was whole?
What kind of person needed to be erased?
When I opened the door, Asher was there. Shirtless. Barefoot. Eyes bloodshot from watching. Waiting.
He didn’t speak. He didn’t need to. The pull between us was thicker now, almost unbearable. Like something inside me was trying to claw out th
