Evelyn's POV
The world felt like it had stopped spinning.
For a second, I didn't even realize what had happened. One moment I was falling, screaming as the air tore around me, and the next, his arms were around me again. Lucian. The monster. The curse I could never escape.
The glowing crescent mark on my arm pulsed violently between us, as though mocking me. Its faint golden light shimmered against the darkness, burning where his skin touched mine. My breath hitched, a lump forming in my throat as my brain struggled to make sense of it all. The monster's screech still echoed in the distance. Its corpse lay crumpled somewhere behind us.
He had saved me. Again.
That realization sent a wave of rage and disgust through me.
"Let go of me," I hissed, struggling against him, but his grip only tightened for a moment before he slowly released me. The instant I was free, I stumbled backward, almost tripping over my own feet as I shoved him away with trembling hands.
