DANTE

The air surrounding us felt thick, charged with the residue of betrayal that clung to us like smoke.

Aria moved through the space like a ghost, her bare feet silent on the cool marble. She paused at the bedroom door, her hand lingering on the frame, her shoulders slumped under the weight of it all. I watched her from the hall, the city lights casting long shadows across her face, turning her eyes into dark pools of exhaustion and fury.

"Come here," I said, my voice low, and roughened ...