Page 174 of At First Spark
Her brows pull together slightly.
“Kenzie.”
Understanding hits instantly.
“What happened?”
“They picked her up.”
Her shoulders drop just slightly, but not fully relaxed.
“Is she—”
“In custody with a lot of charges coming,” I confirm.
She exhales, slow and controlled. Like she doesn’t trust the feeling yet either.
“Did she say anything?”
I hesitate. Not because I don’t want to tell her, but because I don’t want her to carry it.
Except she’s already part of this, already lived through it.
“She thought it would make me remember her,” I say.
Lark’s expression shifts, her eyes widening a fraction.
“She set a fire for attention.”
“Yeah.”
A beat passes, her gaze sharpening.
“She underestimated me,” Lark says quietly.
That…that almost makes me smile.
“Yeah,” I agree. “She did.”
Lark steps closer, her hand finding mine without hesitation.
“And she underestimated us.”
She couldn’t have said anything truer. I tighten my grip on her hand slightly.
“Yeah,” I say again.
“She did that too.”
I set the mug down on the porch railing and drag a hand over the back of my neck. My shoulder pulls in protest, the burn and bruising reminding me that my body hasn’t caught up to the part of me already trying to move on to the next thing that needs fixing.
Lark notices immediately.
“You should still be resting.”
I look at her, taking in the seriousness in her face, the way concern settles there more easily now than it did when she first got here. It used to flash and disappear. Now it stays. That should scare me more than it does.
“So should you,” I say.
