Noa couldn’t feel his hands. Couldn’t feel his legs. Could barely feel Alessio’s weight pressing him down like a brand, like a punishment, like a claim. The air was carved out of the cathedral now, like Dominik had walked away with all the oxygen, all the light, all the goddamn choices.

Noa’s eyes stayed fixed on the doors Dominik had just walked through, on the shadow that swallowed him, on the silence that slammed down behind him like the closing of a coffin.

Alessio’s breath ...