Lorien POV

“They aren’t my kids,” I whispered, as if the two girls laughing down the hall might somehow hear the truth unraveling inside me. “They aren’t mine. This isn’t my home.”

My head shook on instinct, denial pulsing in every beat of my heart. I stepped back, trying to put distance between myself and Riven, but he followed, reaching for me with a gentleness that felt suddenly suffocating.

“Lorien”

“No.” The word tore out of me as I seized his wrists and pushed ...