“I am in a lycan prince’s apartment,” Iva murmured, almost laughing from disbelief. “A few weeks ago I was hiding scraps of food in my bag and counting coins for bread… and now…”
Her fingers curled into the sheets.
“What if this is a mistake? What if this is some cruel twist of fate before everything collapses again?”
Silence answered.
Her chest tightened suddenly — the now-familiar hollow ache, deep and persistent.
She pressed her palm over her heart unconsciously.
“It hurts more tonight.”
“Distance,” Avalon explained softly. “Awareness. Recognition.”
Iva swallowed.
“So he feels this too?”
A pause.
“I do not know.”
That uncertainty hurt more than any answer.
She turned again, staring into the dim ceiling.
Images chased each other relentlessly through her thoughts.
Nick’s co
