The night had grown colder, the wind sharper, the stars hidden behind a veil of clouds that seemed to press down on the world like a held breath. I stood alone on the battlements, my hands frozen on the stone, my tears dried on my cheeks, my heart a hollow ache in my chest. Kaelen had been gone for hours, but I could still feel his presence, the weight of his words, the pain in his eyes, and the echo of his footsteps fading into the darkness of the fortress.
I had broken him. I had shattered the trust between us with the weight of my secrets, secrets I had carried for so long that I had forgotten what it felt like to be free of them. And I did not know if what we had built could be repaired.
The sound of footsteps on the stone behind me made me turn.
