perfectly groomed arena, e

eed at Serenity Peak, the m

y from Blackwood E

Reed," Ellie said, he

mething real, some

t at the vast

ve been living f

aze was kind,

To truly heal, to find yourself, you must be

her eyes gen

Blackwood, weren't you? He too

question hu

lackwood was the bedrock of he

llie' s face, a fl

fter the fire, after Phoenix a

nched h

I have to. I accept the conditions,

gained a n

stone locket, usually warm agai

d nodde

th, dark stone, small e

ounding. It can help draw out negativity, but the process can be

stone. It was c

a strange shiver ran up her arm,

hat felt like a deep

be easy. This stone was just a

week earlier, the air had be

main stable, his expensive boots s

tepped out of a magazine, t

he said, his voi

acticed smile that used t

made her st

f the storm brewing inside

her into a casual embrace, h

d up. This new real est

as flimsy, almost

ew it wa

Isabelle Thorne' s jasmine per

noticed in his car, on

tle piece of her

with Ethan' s familiar col

e scent o

from his embrace

, her voice tight.

physical thing, ri

abelle in her mind,

was shar

nished. His eyes

tten into y

, his fingers digg

s touch; it was a

ng one of you

ting, the voice he used whe

nd sharp, pr

inning to see more clearly, th

ization crashed

see her. He

qual, not a

a beautiful, talente

he' d overheard him call her to Isab

ed in her head

h rise in her throat,

it meant nothing to him beyond her usefulnes

her small apartment on the

ngering perfume of the other

tepped into the shower, turning th

in, again and again, t

her skin was raw,

e comfort, a distraction from

to cleanse herself of him, of the l

, its golden sheen dulled in the dim ligh