Page 111 of Broken Blades

The smoke alarm began screaming.

I grabbed the pan—still smoking like a war crime—dumped it in the sink, cranked the faucet, and flipped on the exhaust fan. The sizzle that followed sounded like the pan's dying breath.

"What in the hell were you trying to do, summon demons?"

She crossed her arms, embarrassed red blooming across her neck. "I was trying to cook."

"You mean murder a skillet?"

She glared at me, bottom lip jutting out just slightly—an expression that should not have been as distracting as it was.

"I wanted to thank you. For last night."

I stopped. Completely. Every sarcastic comment I had lined up died on my tongue. She looked down, fiddling with her fingers like a kid caught sneaking cookies.

"You took care of me. And I know you didn't have to. So I wanted to make dinner."

Something in my chest pulled tight. Uncomfortable. Unwelcome. Dangerous.

I stared at the charred remains in the sink. Stared at her. Stared at the smoke still curling toward the ceiling. She'd tried to cook for me. No one had tried to cook for me in years. Not since⁠—

I cut that thought off hard.

"What was it supposed to be?"

Her voice came out small. "Chicken."

I looked at the blackened mass. "That was chicken?"

"…Yes."

I almost laughed. Almost. Instead, I exhaled slowly through my nose and reached for my phone.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Ordering pizza."

"Wyatt—"

"Before you burn my house down."

She opened her mouth to argue, then seemed to think better of it. Her shoulders sagged slightly. "I really did want to thank you."

I paused mid-scroll. Looked at her properly. She was still in those ridiculous oversized sweats, hair a mess, mascara smudged under one eye from earlier, standing in my kitchen like she belonged there. Like she'd been there all along.

"You don't need to thank me," I said quietly.

"I do, though."

"Chastity—"

"You didn't leave me. You could have. But you didn't."

Her voice cracked just slightly on the last word.

And that—that small, vulnerable break—gutted me completely.

I set the phone down. Moved closer without thinking. Stopped when I was close enough to see the leftover tears clinging to her lashes. "I wouldn't have left you."