Chapter 17. Beneath the Skin
Elara stood alone in the washroom, staring at the mirror above the sink. She had washed the blood off. Scrubbed her hands until her knuckles were red. But still, she saw Shade.
Her reflection flickered like it was trying to break character.
"I killed her," she whispered.
She touched the glass. "And she smiled when she died."
The door opened.
Damien leaned against the frame. He didn’t speak. Not at first. He just watched her from a distance like she was a porcelain artifact—fragile, irreplaceable, and on the verge of cracking.
Elara finally turned. "Was I ever really me, Damien?"
He walked toward her and gently turned her face toward him.
"Elara, no one else could have done what you did. No one else would have hesitated like you did."
"I almost let her kill me."
"And that’s what makes you you."