Page 53 of Tears for a Broken Sky
Because I don’t care.
The only sound that matters is his boots on the floor.
Vasquez.
He stands beside me, a ghost in human skin.
“She abandoned you,” he says quietly, like he’s soothing a wounded animal.
I nod.
“She ran. And the others let her.”
I nod again.
“They didn’t come back, Thorne. They made their choice.”
And I say it. Out loud. Because I believe it now:
“They left me behind.”
He watches me a moment longer. Then:
“What is she?”
My voice is flat. Empty.
“A traitor.”
“To what?”
“To the crown.”
“And the others?”
I hesitate.
Leo’s face flickers in the glass—grinning, cruel, hand wrapped around Elira’s wrist.
“Corrupted.”
“And your mission?”
“Kill the Shades. Deliver her back. For justice.”
Vasquez steps in front of me, blocking the mirror.
“And if she begs?”
I feel her phantom hand in mine. I hear her voice, soft with guilt—
“Thorne… please. You know me.”
I close my eyes.
“I’ll remind her who she is.”
He nods once and turns.
