Daphne POV

“Peace never lasts when your enemies share your last name.”

The storm wasn’t outside, it was in his eyes.

When Xavier walked through my door that night, the air in my apartment shifted like the world itself had decided to hold its breath.

His face was tight, pale beneath the lamplight, and his knuckles were still faintly red, as if he’d been gripping something too hard for too long.

“Tell me you’ve eaten,” I started, but he cut me off.

“Daphne,” he said, voice ...