Xavier’s POV

The air snapped like glass the second her words hit me.

Every muscle in my body went rigid, a storm tearing through my chest.

I rose so fast the chair legs screamed against the floor. Celeste flinched.

“Where?” My voice cut through the room like steel.

She smirked, but I saw the tremor in her jaw. “Don’t you think it’s too late to ask that? She’s already gone, Xavier.”

My pulse hammered. I took one step toward the door.

Celeste’s voice sharpened, desperate. “She ...