RAVENNA
My heart skipped. “I… I don’t understand.” My voice trembled, fear seeping in despite myself. “You’re saying it wasn’t a person? Then how did you get hurt?’
The room became quiet, except for the faint ticking of the clock and the steady hum of Elias’s breathing. I didn’t know what to expect, as I focused on the present moment, but failed. Elias’s eyes shifted toward me, heavy and tired, yet steady enough to make me know he wasn’t going to brush me off.
He drew in a breath, not from pain but as though the memory of it still pressed on his chest. His hand moved unconsciously to where the cut had been, fingers brushing over smooth skin, a silent reminder that even though I had taken the pain away and caused the scar to vanish, the memory of the blade still lived inside him.
“I got
