Aria’s POV

I didn’t go to my room after leaving Kaelen.

I couldn’t.

If I stayed alone too long, I would think—too much, too deeply, too dangerously—and my tears were already close to spilling again. My chest felt tight, my throat felt raw, and every breath came with the weight of the secret lodged beneath my ribs.

Selene was quiet now, perhaps giving me space.

But the silence only made my mind louder.

My feet carried me almost unconsciously through the hallways, ...