The same walls that heard a lie I didn’t stop.
Riley was here. In this exact spot. And I didn’t know.
I thought it was Bree. Thought she’d finally let me close, finally trusted me enough to—
My chest aches.
I remember the way Riley looked at me—confident, certain, nothing like Bree’s careful vulnerability. I remember her hands, her voice, the way she moved.
All wrong.
But I didn’t see it. Didn’t feel it.
What kind of person does that make me?
Bree shifts slightly, pressing closer, and I force myself to breathe through the guilt threatening to choke me.
She trusts me. Right now, in this moment, she’s choosing to be here withme. Seeking comfort. Offering it.
And all I can think about is how the last time I was in this bed, it wasn’t her.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper into the dark, knowing she can’t hear me. “I didn’t know it wasn’t you. But I should’ve.”
The Ether stirs faintly around us, warm and alive.
On the windowsill, a single daisy blooms.
I hold Bree closer, feeling her heartbeat against my ribs, steady and real.
The sanctuary quiets around us. Voices fade down the hall. The world narrows to this room, this bed, this woman sleeping peacefully in my arms.
If she’s the heart of this place, then the least I can do is stand guard while it learns to beat again.
I press my face into her hair and breathe her in.
“I love you too,” I whisper.
Chapter 41
Jace
I wake to warmth—not the cold ache of guilt that’s lived in my chest for months, but real, human warmth.
Bree’s body pressed against mine, her head still on my chest, one arm draped across my ribs. The morning light filters through the gauzy curtains, turning everything soft and gold.
For a moment, I just breathe.
The sanctuary hums quietly around us—alive again, the Ether threading through the walls in gentle pulses. Outside, I hear faint voices, the rustle of people moving through the courtyard. The world keeps turning.
But in here, it’s just us.
Bree shifts slightly, and I freeze, not wanting to wake her. Not wanting this moment to end.
Because the second she wakes up, I’m going to have to face it again.
The fact that I was in this bed before. With Riley. Thinking it was her.
My stomach twists.
