My chest cracks.“I won’t tell a soul.”
Her fingers curl in my shirt.
“Stay,” she breathes again, softer.
I sit beside her as she drifts, her breathing evening out, her hand still gripping mine like she’s afraid of the dark.
I watch her sleep, something fierce and protective blooming in my chest.
And when I finally whisper, “I’m right here,”
I mean it.
Chapter 24: Kael
Iget to the arenabefore dawn.
I tell myself it’s because captains should set the standard, because the ice is cleaner in the early hours, because it gives me time to prep before the other guys show up.
Truth is, I didn’t sleep.
At all.
I laid in bed staring at the ceiling, replaying the way Wren flinched yesterday.The way she swallowed panic so hard it hurt me to watch it.The way she walked out of the arena alone, shoulders tight, expression hollow.
And the way something in me—something I thought I buried years ago—rose like a threat in my chest.
She’s not safe.
Even if she thinks she is.
Even if she pretends she is.
Something’s wrong.
And I’m done waiting for her to tell us.
