LIV’S POV

I didn’t realize I was crying until I felt the warm patch spreading over Kaelon’s shirt. My face was buried in his chest, my fists clenched at his sides like I was holding on for dear life.

His scent wrapped around me; clean, crisp, and familiar. It was stupid, how something as simple as a smell could undo me. But it did.

I jerked back like I’d been burned.

"I... I can't," I whispered, stumbling backward as I reached for the door. My heart thudded in my chest like a trapped bird, desperate and confused. Kaelon didn’t stop me, didn’t say a word as I slipped inside and...