Chapter SIXTY-SEVEN

Dane The moment Lusia looked up at me, something inside me shattered. For the first time in my life, I felt utterly paralyzed—not by fear, not by rage, but by something far more dangerous. Her hazel eyes, wide and full of uncertainty, locked onto mine, and in that instant, I felt everything at the same time. My body felt like an endless pit filled with different emotions that kept on stirring, making me feel every bit of them. I could feel them consume me and I wasn’t able to pull myself out of the pit. I was stuck, drowning as my body succumbed to them. I felt all of them. Guilt. For making her doubt herself. I had told her to stand up for herself and when she did, I pushed her away. I was stupid to do so. I was supposed to be proud of her. She had stood against Kiara and held herself. She left the room the better of the two of them. Love. For the way she stood before me, fragile yet unyielding. She didn’t want to let go of me out of fear that she would never see me again. Anger. For