Nadia's Point Of View
"What?"
The word escaped my lips as a pathetic, strangled squeak. I froze completely, my hand still pressed against my throbbing, red-hot cheek, staring at Azriel as if he had sprouted a second head. My brain refused to process the sentence that had just left his mouth.
The world seemed to tilt sideways for a moment, and I felt my carefully constructed reality beginning to crack at the edges. Everything I thought I knew about my brother, about my place in this family, suddenly felt uncertain.
"What the hell are you even talking about, Azriel?!" I finally shrieked, my voice cracking violently as the initial shock transformed into white-hot, unadulterated rage. Heat flooded through my veins, burning away the last traces of disbelief. I stepped forward, my designer heels crunching viciously against the gravel, each step punctuating my fury.
