Kiel
Varen was right.
As much as I hated to admit it, he was fucking right. The anger he threw at me had dug under my skin, clawed into my chest, and wouldn't let go. It wasn't just what he said—it was the way he said it, the disgust in his voice when he told me to stop hiding. When he told me I was part of the reason Josie was pulling away.
He wasn't wrong.
So now I was pacing toward her room, my jaw clenched so tight it hurt, my thoughts spinning with every step. I needed to fix this. I had to. I couldn't take one more day of pretending like she wasn't hurting, or like I didn't want to throw myself off the damn edge every time I saw her flinch because of me.
But when I turned the corner toward her hall, something… was off.
There were no guards at her door.
Not one.
That alone made every hair on my body stand up. I picked up my pace, then jogged to the door. I twisted the knob and pushed it open.
Empty.
I stepped inside, heart thudding.
No one.
