Selena
"I hate you."
The words echoed in the space between us, sharp and final.
No one answered.
Not Kael. Not Ronan. Not even Edris.
That silence was worse than anything they could have said.
I kept talking anyway.
I did not even know why. Maybe because if I had stopped, I would feel it. The hurt. The confusion. The way something between us had twisted into something I no longer recognized.
"You don't get to decide for me," I snapped, still struggling against Edris's hold. "You don't get to drag me back like I belong to you—"
He did not respond.
None of them did.
They just kept walking.
By the time we reached the cave, my voice was hoarse, my chest tight, my anger tangled with something dangerously close to breaking.
Edris carried me inside without a word.
Kael and Ronan stayed at the entrance.
Watching.
Guarding.
Or maybe just making sure I did not try to run again.
The moment we were inside, Edris dropped me onto my feet.
I staggered slightly but caught myself.
