I don’t think.
I don’t plan.
I just spin around and charge directly at the shadow I’ve glimpsed from the corner of my eye.
“LEAVE ME ALONE!”
The words tear out of my throat as I barrel toward the figure lurking near the archway, my heart pounding so hard I can hear it in my ears, my feet slapping against the cobblestones, my hands balled into fists even though I have absolutely no idea how to throw a punch—
I don’t even see him move.
One second I’m running, the next there’s an iron grip on my wrist and the world spins, and then my back is against the cool stone of the archway and there’s a hand clamped over my mouth.
“Stop.”
The voice is low. Familiar. Ice and velvet wrapped around a command.
My eyes fly wide.
No.
No, no, no—
The hand loosens, just enough for me to breathe, and I find myself staring up into a face I never thought I’d see again.
Ice-blue eyes. Sharp jaw. Gold hair catching the late afternoon light like he’s been personally blessed by the sunset.
My rescuer.
He’s here.
He’s HERE, and he’s the one who’s been—
“Y-You.”
Something inside my chest gives way at the sight of him. His expression is thunderous, his jaw clenched so tight I can see the muscle jumping beneath his skin, and his eyes—
I’ve never seen him look at me like this.
Like he’s furious.
Like he’s terrified.
Like he wants to shake me until my teeth rattle.
“Do you have any idea,” he says, his voice a low growl that vibrates through the hand still pressed against my shoulder, “how foolish that was?”
All I can do is bite my lip.Hard.Because now that the adrenaline has worn off, my body is made to pay every ill-advised move I’ve made in the past five minutes, and my side is hurting like I was shot all over again.
“You charged.” His grip tightens, not enough to hurt, but enough to make his point. “At a stranger. With nothing. No weapon. No plan. No thought for what might happen if it wasn’t me.”
“I—I’m sorry, I just—”
“What if it had been him?” His voice is soft and calm.Terrifyinglyso. “What if it had been Braxton? What would you have done then, Mira? Screamed at him? Hoped someone would hear?”
“I wasn’t thinking—”
“Clearly.”
