Sonia woke before dawn, the cold light of the academy seeping through the cracked window panes.
The room felt too empty, like even the shadows had abandoned her.
She pulled Silas’s blazer tighter around her shoulders, breathing in the faint scent of him, salt, smoke, and something intangible, like freedom.
Last night, his presence had felt like a lifeline. Now, his absence pressed on her chest like a weight she couldn’t lift.
She splashed water on her face, her reflection staring back with tired, red-rimmed eyes. The girl in the mirror was a patchwork of lies and grief. A girl who loved too deeply and fought too hard. A girl who’d given up her name to wear someone else’s.
And now she had to keep wearing it for him.
She left her room quietly, pulling the door shut like a secret behi
