Naomi’s Pov

The strange thing about distance is how close it can feel.

That night, even though Cassian and I barely spoke, even though the house was quiet and nothing dramatic happened, I felt him everywhere. In the hallways, in the echo of footsteps, in the soft creak of a floorboard near my room. He didn’t come to my door, and I didn’t expect him to, but his presence moved like a shadow that kept brushing against mine.

I tried to read. My eyes didn’t move.

I tried to sleep. My body wouldn’t settle.

Every thought drifted back to him.

Not in a fantasy way, not in some dramatic romance-novel...