SAGE
The world came rushing back all at once.
Now in my body, I staggered, my knees giving way beneath the weight of what I had seen, what I now knew.
Strong arms caught me before I could hit the floor, pulling me into a familiar chest. Adam.
For a moment, I let myself stay there, breathing him in, anchoring myself to the solid heat of his body while my mind reeled. Shock didn't fade quickly. It clung, sticky and nauseating, eating me out from the inside.
The Queen.
The realization burned like acid.
Through the bond, I felt Adam's awareness sharpen, felt the echo of what I had dragged back with me bleed across the connection.
I knew—without needing to look—that he had seen fragments. Enough. And if the murderous glares hardening the faces of his brothers were anything to go by, he hadn't kept it to himself.
Good. Let them all see.
I straightened slowly, easing out of Adam's arms, though my fingers lingered at his side for a heartbeat longer. Then I turned back to Claire.
