The Devil's Broken Doll
His hand flexed slightly in hers, the movement drawing her attention back to it as he exhaled slowly.
“I feel…” he hesitated, searching for the right word, for something that didn’t sound as unfamiliar as it felt. “Different.”
Her eyes lifted to his immediately.
“How?”
He held her gaze for a moment, then looked inward again, feeling for it the same way he had when the flame had answered him differently.
“Stronger,” he said finally. “Fuller.”
The words settled between them.
“Like there was something missing,” he continued, quieter now, his brow drawing slightly as he tried to give shape to it, “and I didn’t know it was gone until now.”