ACE’S POV

As the doctor announces the outcomes of the surgery, I slowly detach from the group, watching their faces light up for only a moment before something even darker takes over.

But I don’t stay long.

I don’t dare stay with them in their moments of grief or offer words of encouragement, not when I haven’t been there for everything they’ve had to face.

I don’t deserve to sit in their presence of lament with any of them, not especially Artemis or Jasper.

I was a shitty ...