~ Adeline ~

"Cassian does not look at the broccoli."

He doesn’t hesitate, either.

His hand seeks the pork rib rather than taking Elara's offering, and he raises it effortlessly, taking a bite as if this has been his intention all along. It is a tiny noise. Nothing more. The tearing of meat, bone on teeth. It is normal.

It shouldn’t hurt, but it hurts.

Still, I feel it anyway, a sharp and sudden stab, like something fine and fragile in me has been thrown clear off a shelf. I watch the ...