EMBER’S POV

“Ember—”

“And it hurt. Because all this while, I’ve tried so hard to be that one thing. To prove everyone wrong about what they think I am. I’ve tried to be worthy, Knox.” And here it comes, the real thing, the bottom of it, and the tears are back. “Worthy. Just—worthy. Of being loved properly, for once. Of being a mother someday, a good one, not like mine. Of being someone who rose above all of it, the eight years with Gale and all of it, someone who mattered. I’ve spent my whole life clawing toward worthy. And this—this thing inside me, this ancient, powerful thing that’s supposed...