"Aria! Where did you go all of a sudden?"
Darius's voice hit me the moment I stepped into my chamber—low, tight, and much too close. He looked like he had been standing there the entire time I was gone, pacing, waiting, burning holes into the floor with frustration.
Or maybe guilt.
The second I crossed the threshold, he strode toward me, eyes scanning me with a frantic sharpness that made my skin prickle.
"What happened to you?" he demanded, grabbing my shoulders a bit too roughly. His warmth seeped through my clothes, but it did nothing to soothe the cold rising inside me.
"What are you talking about?" I muttered, more tired than confused.
Then his hand brushed the nape of my neck.
The sting shot through me like a spark, ripping a hiss from my throat.
His eyes blew wide.
"What happened to your neck?" His voice dropped, turning dark. "Who did it to you? Just name them."
