SELENA’S POV

I was drowning.

Not in water. No, not even in blood. But in grief—I was drowning in grief.

It was thick and suffocating, wrapping around my chest like chains, and refusing to let go. I couldn't breathe in or out. I couldn't think. I couldn't do anything else except let the tears fall.

And Goddess, they wouldn’t stop falling.

The smell of smoke was still in my nose. It didn’t matter how many times I washed my clothes or scrubbed my skin roughly. It still ...