‘Are you going to find a fight in everything I do?’ It’s almost in exasperation, his voice losing its softness, and instead, he sounds tired. Alexi the Great sounds exhausted, making me falter as I leg it to the door; I turn back and glance his way.

I’m not prepared for how he looks at me, and for a second, I feel guilty … even though I have no reason to be. He’s eating me with his eyes, so pale and haunting under a furrowed brow that gives him a lost, wounded boy look—a ...