Morana's Point Of View
My phone buzzed with a message from Nancy.
Where are you?
I quickly typed back, "Go ahead without me. I have somewhere to be."
A partial truth, at least.
I sat back down on the leather couch in the lounge just outside the event hall, letting the noise and footsteps from the departing crowd fade away until there was only silence.
The events from earlier still echoed in my chest.
Nikolai.
He had caught me.
In front of everyone.
He held me like I was made of glass and vengeance all at once, like he would murder the world if it ever dared to break me. And the things he said, the way his presence overtook the entire room like a gathering storm… I could still feel it like lightning across my skin.
God, Morana… get a grip, I scolded myself internally, exhaling sharply.
I sat there, perfectly still in the empty corridor, until I was sure the hall had cleared. Then, gathering the last bits of dignity I could find, I stood.
