Page 117 of Kingdom of Chaos
I pause, feeling the truth of it settle in my chest like a heartbeat I hadn’t noticed until now. “No. I don’t regret it.”
Talon’s smile is equal parts relief and joy, lighting up his entire face. Just as he opens his mouth to respond, the door to the warehouse slams open.
The bang reverberates through the space like a gunshot, and we both jolt. I spin toward the entrance, my pulse still racing from everything that just happened, but now for a very different reason.
Becks stands in the doorway, a takeout bag clutched in one hand, his eyes fixed on us.
He freezes.
The lighthearted expression he wore only a second earlier dies on his face as he takes in the scene: me still flushed with swollen lips and standing far too close to Talon, whose hand hasn’t quite dropped from my waist.
“I—” Becks starts, his voice catching. He clears his throat and lifts the bag slightly, like that somehow makes this moment less raw. “I, uh . . . brought dinner. Thought you might still be training.”
His gaze darts between us, and emotion shifts behind his eyes. A wound I opened once and somehow tore open again. Hurt. Betrayal. Maybe a feeling he won’t let himself name.
He sets the bag down on the nearby folding table with more force than necessary.
Neither Talon nor I say a word. The silence is thick. Heavy.
“I’ll give you two some space,” Becks says, already backing toward the door. “Clearly, you don’t need me here.”
Then he’s gone before I can figure out what to say. Before I even know what Iwantto say.
Thirty-Two
The door bangsshut behind him, the echo ringing through the warehouse like a warning bell.
For a few heartbeats, I can’t move. Frozen. Caught between the intensity of what just happened with Talon and the wreckage Becks left in his wake.
The warmth of Talon’s hands still lingers on my skin, but guilt creeps in like a chill.
Talon exhales hard beside me, stepping back just enough to meet my eyes. “That went well,” he mutters, voice tight, caught between frustration and regret.
I press a trembling hand to my mouth. “He wasn’t supposed to see that. We weren’t even?—”
“Doing anything?” Talon finishes for me, but there’s no accusation in his voice. Only quiet resignation. “Didn’t look that way to him.”
I step away completely now, needing space to think, to breathe. “I should go after him.”
“Should you?” Talon’s voice is quiet, but the question lands hard.
“I’m sorry,” I say, not even exactly sure what I’m apologizing for as I backpedal away from him.
Talon doesn’t stop me. He just watches me go.
I push through the door after Becks, the cold night air crashing into me like a punishment.
I find him just outside the warehouse, pacing like a storm bottled in a human body. He doesn’t hear me at first, or pretends not to, until I step off the gravel path.
“Becks.”
He stops. Doesn’t turn. His fists are clenched at his sides.
“So that’s what I left you alone with him for?” His voice is low but sharp. “Training?”
I swallow hard. “It wasn’t planned. It just . . . happened.”
“Right,” he says, finally turning to face me. His jaw is tight, eyes darker than I’ve ever seen them. “You just accidentally climbed into his arms?”
