There was no sounds, just trembling pain tearing out of Aurora with no shame, no hesitation.

She cried into his chest like a child, like a lover who’d been holding it in too long, like a woman who had traded something sacred and couldn’t get it back. Rowan wrapped his arms around her and pressed his face to her hair, rocking her gently, holding her like she was made of smoke, terrified she’d disappear if he let go for even a second.

He didn’t care who saw. He didn’t care that Victor was still kneeling behind him, that the guards were watching from the doorway. All he cared about was...