Elijah dared not meet those glaring blue eyes. Afraid of what he might find.
Every feeling—anger, longing, mischief—was aimed at him. All of it.
Like a dense net of emotional chains, they seemed to trap his body, searing into his skin, trying to leave a mark on his soul.
He couldn't afford that kind of warmth. At least not without burning to ashes.
Ice and fire never stayed together long.
He had learned it the hard way—the more he grew attached to something, the faster it tended to dissipate.
The hole in his chest was carved too wide.
One more crack and he would shatter, tumble to the ground, with no one left to stitch his scattered soul back together.
All he wanted was serenity. A little peace, until his time was gone.
"You have changed," the words slipped out of his mouth before he could stop them.
But Lyosha had indeed changed. Once, he was a clinging little boy who would obey his words like the law of the world.
