ARIELI woke up without Kazimir on my bed. The sheets were cold on the other side. The pillow still held the faint imprint of his head, but the warmth was gone, replaced by the chill of morning. I reached out, my fingers brushing the fabric, and felt the absence like a physical ache.I shouldn't have missed him. I'd spent ten years sleeping alone, running alone, surviving alone. I didn't need a man’s warmth. I didn't want it.But I did.I wanted his.I lay there for a moment, staring at the ceiling, remembering the way he'd held me at the summit. The way his arms had wrapped around me, the way his breath had been warm on my hair, the way I'd slept through the night without a single nightmare.Then I pushed myself up, swung my legs over the side of the bed, and forced myself to move.Evie was still asleep when I checked on her. She was curled around her stuffed rabbit, the gray stone from Nikolai on her nightstand, her face peaceful in the soft glow of the crescent moon nightlight. I
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