CLAUDE
Andrie didn't move. Didn't flinch. His face was stone, his shoulders squared like this conversation was over, like he didn't see what this was doing to me, like Nikolai didn't f*****g matter.
A bitter, broken laugh ripped out of me, jagged and empty, because what else was I supposed to do? I wanted to fight. I needed to fight. I needed to tear through this city, rip it apart piece by piece until I found him, until I could see him, touch him, know that he was alive. But I couldn't. They wouldn't let me.
The helpless feeling sank its claws into my chest and twisted. It burned. It hurt. It was worse than anything I had ever felt before.
My body was shaking, every inch of me locked tight, my muscles coiled so hard they ached, but I couldn't move, couldn't breathe, couldn't
