Page 21 of Kael

Zia opened her mouth, then closed it.

"You don't know what it's like," I continued, my voice dropping to something quieter. "To watch someone you love fall apart. To see them turn into a ghost of who they were. To know that if you don't do something—anything—they'll be gone forever. I didn't lock her up to punish her. I locked her up to save her. And it's working."

Zia looked at Caine. He was watching me with an expression I couldn't read.

"Zia?" A voice came from behind us.

We all turned.

Lena was standing at the top of the stairs, wrapped in a silk robe, her hair loose. Her throat was still bruised—faint purple marks that looked like fingerprints. Her lip was still slightly swollen.

But it wasn't her face that made my blood run cold. It was her eyes. She was looking at me like I was the last glass of water in the desert.

"Kael," she breathed. "You came."

"Lena, I thought you were asleep," Zia said.

"I couldn't sleep. I heard voices." Lena started walking down the stairs, her movements slow, deliberate. "I heard his voice."

She reached the bottom of the stairs and stopped a few feet away from me. Close enough to touch. Too close.

"You came," she repeated. "I knew you would. I knew you couldn't stay away."

I took a step back. "Don't."

Lena's face fell. "Don't what?"

"Don't look at me like that. Don't talk to me like that. Don't pretend there's anything between us."

Her eyes filled with tears. "But there is. There could be. I've been waiting—"

"For what?"

Lena flinched like I'd slapped her.

I continued. "Why did you lie to Caine and Zia about what transpired?"

"I didn't mean to cause trouble," she whispered. "I just wanted you to see me. The real me. The one who could be goodfor you. The one who isn't broken. Who isn't a junkie. Who could stand beside you without falling apart."

Zia stepped forward, her voice sharp. "Lena, stop. This isn't—"

"Stay out of this." Lena's voice was cold. "This doesn't concern you."

Zia froze, watching the transformation happen. The sweet, scared woman was gone.

Lena's eyes flashed with something ugly. "Why her, Kael? She's not special. She's just... broken in a way that makes you feel useful. But you could have me. Someone who doesn't need to be fixed. Someone who could actually give you something."

"I don't want you."

Lena's face went white.

"I don't want you," I repeated. "You are invisible to me, Lena. And you'll always be invisible to me."

She stared at me, trembling. "That's not true," she whispered. "You just don't know me yet."

I took a step closer to her, close enough to see the desperation in her eyes. "I know everything I need to know about you. You're pathetic."

Lena's eyes filled with tears. "I just—"