-Aurelian Salvatore:
I froze, unable to blink or even breathe like a normal person, the second my eyes met Elias' crying, very awake eyes.
Elias had wrapped himself around me like I was the only solid thing left in his world. His entire body was pressed to mine—small, trembling, desperate. His legs were locked around my hips and waist, his arms tangled tight around my back and neck, holding me with a strength that didn't match his size, afraid I would push him away as I did before. His face was buried deep in the curve of my throat, and I could feel it—the wetness of his tears soaking into my skin, warm and relentless.
His chest heaved against mine, rising and falling too fast, like he couldn't breathe, like he was drowning and I was the only thing keeping his head above water.
