Leah’s chest felt hollow, as if Jason had carved out her heart with words alone. The man in front of her wasn’t the man she had loved, not anymore. That man had fought for her, bled for her, once promised her that no matter how dark the night became, they’d always walk toward the dawn together. Now he stood cloaked in power, convinced he was untouchable, convinced he was something more than human.

She held her ground, even though her body trembled.

“I will not join you, Jason,” she said. Her voice was steady, soft but filled with an iron he could not break. “I will not stand by and...