Veil of the Night Bloom

Atlas >>>

She was here. She wasn't avoiding me.

That should have been enough to ease the tension that had been gripping my chest since we set up camp.

But it didn't.

Because now that she was here—now that she had walked right up to me, asked to ride with me, chosen to be close—my mind had turned into a battlefield of its own.

I couldn't stop thinking about how cold she had looked after Damien. How her eyes had refused to meet mine. How her body had gone rigid the moment I reached for her.

She had flinched. And I had seen it.

Even though she had tried to cover it up, even though she had approached me now—the memory stuck like a blade in my chest.

Was she trying to reassure me? That she wasn't afraid? That she wasn't going to push me away? Or was she forcing herself?

No. No, I wouldn't think like that. She was here. With me. That was what mattered.