Each word hit like a blow.
Then he turned his back on her.
Just like that.
Iva stood frozen, chest aching, tears burning behind her eyes, as the last echoes of his words settled deep inside her.
And somewhere beneath her skin, Avalon growled softly—not in pain, but in fury.
--
Iva forced herself back into class, her legs heavy, her chest still tight from the encounter in the library. She slid into her seat and lowered her gaze, pretending to care about the lesson, pretending that everything was normal.
It wasn’t.
She could feel it almost immediately once everyone was present for the lesson.
Two drilling looks burned into her back like hot iron.
Mark.
Ella.
She didn’t need to turn around to know they were watching her. Her newly sharpened senses made it impossible to ignore—the
