Page 146 of Claimed In Darkness

Or letting her go.

I should let her drown in the ruin she has chosen.

But I won’t.

She is still mine. I refuse to let this end here.

Even if she has given up?—

I haven’t.

She thinks I will let her disappear into the dark.

But she is wrong.

I am coming for her.

If she truly wants to bury what we were?—

She will have to fucking kill me first.

48

NAIRA

Ikeep moving.

Not when the blood on my hands has dried. The chaos of the battle still rings in my ears.

Every step away from him feels like a blade driving deeper into my spine.

If I dare to stop, I will have to face it.

What I did.

What I lost.

What I left behind, bleeding in the dirt.

And I can’t afford that with the war still raging.

Now when Zephiran is coming for me.

The rain has turned the dirt to mud, thick and clinging, dragging at my boots as I push forward through the ruined city.

Relife should overwhelm me.

I should feel victory.

I walked away. I chose this. I made my choice.

So why does my chest feel like it is still in his fucking hands?

Why does every breath burn?

Why does my skin still remember his touch, his heat, his blade against my throat?

Why does my mouth still taste like him—like the last time, like the end of something I should have buried long ago?

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