I needed that
I sat in my room, staring at the wall, feeling like I'd been punched in the gut. The room was dimly lit, shadows stretching long across the stone floor.
My thoughts were a chaotic mess, tangled like a knot I couldn't untie. I'd been in fights, faced down demons more terrifying than any nightmare, but this... this was different. This was inside, gnawing at me from the inside out.
I couldn't shake the image of Aeliana running away, her eyes filled with hurt, betrayal, and something else I couldn't quite name. The look on her face haunted me, a constant replay in my mind.
I could still feel the heat of Cassandra's lips against mine, uninvited and unwanted, but it wasn't the kiss that unsettled me. It was the thought that Aeliana had seen it. And that I'd lost her trust, maybe even her affection.