I feel all of them at once.
Their rage.
Their fear.
Their guilt.
I feel like the center of a storm I didn’t mean to create.
My throat tightens.“I’m sorry.”
Finn freezes.“Wren.No.”
Atlas whips around.“Don’t ever apologize for him.”
I flinch.Not at the tone—at the truth.
Kael kneels in front of me, steady and calm in a way that scares me more than the panic.“Look at me.”
I try.
I fail.
My eyes sting.My breath stutters.My body shakes so hard I wrap my arms around myself like I can hold the pieces in.
Kael’s voice softens.“Wren.You’re safe.”
I suck in air too fast.“I thought—I thought I could handle it.I thought I was strong enough.”
Finn drops beside Kael, both of them on their knees in front of me, like I’m something holy and breakable.
“Youarestrong enough,” Finn says.“But no one should have to handle that alone.”
Atlas stands a few feet away, chest rising in sharp, controlled breaths.He looks like he wants to punch the walls until his bones break.Instead, he walks toward me—slow, like I’m something he’s afraid to spook.
He stops in front of me.
“Wren,” he says quietly.
Just my name.
It breaks me.
I fold forward like my ribs gave out.A sob rips through me—loud, messy, ugly—and I cover my face like I’m ashamed to let them see.
They don’t let me hide.
Kael gently pulls my hands away.Finn wraps an arm around my shoulders, warm and trembling.Atlas sits beside me on the couch and presses his thigh against mine, solid and unmoving.
“I can’t—” I gasp.“I can’t stop shaking.”
“You don’t have to,” Kael murmurs.
“He was in my room,” I choke.“He saw me.He—he watched me walk out of the shower—”
Finn makes a broken sound.“Jesus, Wren...”
I press my hands to my forehead.“I was so stupid—”
