Amelia's POV

The moment the blonde woman’s words landed, I felt everything inside me go painfully, dangerously still. The sound of the river behind us faded into a distant hiss, like the world itself had stepped back to watch.

She stood a few feet away, head tilted, lips curled into the slow and satisfied smile of someone who enjoyed delivering a wound.

I tried to breathe and keep myself steady.

But my fingers trembled.

She took a single step toward me, slowly and deliberately, as if ...