Lorien
There was something about being around Cassius that made everything inside me feel like it was teetering on the edge of explosion. It was in the way he looked at me, like he could peel back my layers with just his eyes. The closer I was to him, the harder it became to breathe—like he was stealing the air from my lungs just by standing too close.
I hadn’t meant to get this close again. I hadn’t meant for him to notice me, much less recognize me. But when I turned to sneak away, Cassius’s hand shot out, grabbing my wrist with that same commanding force I remembered far too well.
“Lorien?” he breathed, voice laced with disbelief.
My heart stuttered painfully. “Let go,” I hissed, twisting, trying to flee.
His fingers tightened. His other hand reached for my face, and instinct took over. I ducked, panicked, but his hand found my jaw anyway, forcing me to look at him. There was a fire in his eyes—too intense, too consuming. I tried to shake him off, tried to lie, to run, to do anythi
