Ares’s POV

The rain had stopped by the time we reached the mansion.

But the silence that followed was worse than the storm.

The gravel crunched under our feet as we walked side by side, neither of us speaking. Alina’s hand was still in mine, her fingers cold, trembling faintly. I didn’t let go. I couldn’t.

Not after what I’d almost lost.

When we reached the front steps, she hesitated. Her gaze lifted toward the house — the tall windows gleaming faintly under the gray sky, the ...