~ Author ~

Adeline's fingers tighten on the wooden spoon, the steam of the pot curling against her face as impossible words hang between them, like a sudden drop in temperature.

Cassian killed his own mother.

She doesn't breathe. She doesn't blink. She doesn't even have the capacity to swallow. The sentence hits her so hard her mind empties, her thoughts scatter, and her mouth opens but no sound comes out.

She is speechless. None. Her tongue seems to stick to the roof of her mouth.

But he ...