She smiles—soft and sated and real.
“I know.”
I’m about to move again—to chase my own release—when the door opens.
We both freeze.
Firelight spills into the room—low and warm—and I know before I even turn my head.
Rhett.
He stops in the doorway, eyes locking on us.
For half a second, shame crashes back—hot and suffocating.
Not again.
Chapter 42
Rhett
I shouldn’t be here, but my feet keep moving down the hallway—drawn by something. A pull. A need.
The sanctuary hums around me, alive again. Vines curl along the archways, daisies blooming in cracks that shouldn’t hold life. The Ether threads through everything—silver and warm andhers.
I’ve been wandering for a while now. Restless. Unable to settle.
Gray went to check the perimeter and the Feeders who stayed. Theo’s holed up in his room with constant visions. Wes is somewhere with Stellan, Seth’s smirk when I asked told me everything I needed to know. Thane’s avoiding everyone.
And Bree—
Bree is resting.
With Jace.
I told myself it was fine. That she needed sleep. That Jace needed to be with her, to work through whatever guilt’s been eating him alive since we learned about Riley.
But I can’t stop thinking about it.
Abouther.
About the way she looked at me in the kitchen yesterday—tired but whole, choosing to be here, choosing to stay.
About the way her Ether reached for me even when she was exhausted.
About the fact that I walked in on her with Gray. Stood there and watched. And realized Iwantedto stay. To see them together.
The sun’s still low, light slanting through the windows in pale gold bars.
I stop outside her door.
It’s half-open. Gauzy curtains shift in a breeze that smells like rain and daisies.
I should leave.
I should walk away and give them privacy and not—
A sound drifts through the doorway. Soft. Breathy.
