Chapter 21

IXORA – POV

I woke to the scent of dried blood.

Not mine. Not even Ronan’s anymore. But the memory of it. The way it clung to his skin, soaked his shirt, stained our floor. It lingered in the air like something sacred and dangerous all at once.

Ronan wasn’t in bed.

The sheets beside me were cool.

I sat up slowly, the ache between my ribs reminding me of the night before. Not just what we’d shared, but everything that came before, the look in his eyes when he stood in the doorway, soaked in vengeance. The bodies outside.

Aiden.

Marcus.

Ray.

All gone. Because of me.

I wrapped my arms around myself and sat in silence, the weight of it pressing down like a fog. I didn’t regret Ronan coming back to me. But I couldn’t shake the knot tightening in my gut.

This was going to cost us.

Downstairs, I found Ronan shirtless in the kitchen, bruises blooming across his shoulder and ribs. He was nursing a mug of coffee, staring into it like it held answers he couldn’t find.

He didn’t look at me when I