Russ

freeze water. The silence in my kitchen became a

like a corpse propped up on the couch. He didn't believe her. I could see i

ading with him. Begg

th a heavy, deliberate thud. "If you need

was utte

nt door. The lock clicked shut. The heavy t

e before I hit the floor. She held me while I sobbed, her own te

omach cramps and cold sweats that soaked through my she

zzed. A tex

alled. Flig

t, worse than the cancer, worse than a

dn't

I threw off the blankets, scribbled a note for Serena, pul

e morning air bit at my face. I stood at the edge of the tarmac, w

ity gates. Silas stepped out into th

"I came to say a proper goodbye. A l

. He was fighting something-a wa

, Clara." He turned an

ot, letting the wind whi

closed the distance between us in three desperate strides,

drowning in cedar and gunpowder-his scent

murmured aga

enough to look up a

action of a second too long. Then he

ough me, doubling me over. I stumbled back to the cab, choking out my address.

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