Jace’s POV
I used to tell myself I wasn’t the kind of guy who froze, but that was a lie. I’d been freezing for months. Every time Zara looked at me with those wary eyes, every time I wanted to tell her I wasn’t the same fool who had hurt her before—I froze.
But now? Now I couldn’t hide behind excuses anymore. Not when the Academy halls trailed with whispers of Atlas’s madness. Not when Zara, standing taller despite her bloodline and scars, had dared to drag the truth out into the light while everyone else trembled.
And not when I realized something else—that Zara and Zarek weren’t actually dating. Even though I claimed Zara all the time, the truth was, I didn’t want to give Atlas the chance….
That revelation had hit me like a storm, peeling back the layers of cowardice I’d wrapped arou
