Chapter 150

Alaria

I woke because the room tilted, slow, like the world had been set on a lazy spin and then nudged. And though I did control myself, I couldn't help but find myself wanting to vomit.

For a breath I thought I was still pressed against Liam, the safe weight of him against my ribs. Then the scent hit me: smoke and something metallic, and beneath it a cool, clinical soap that did not belong to our house.

My hand fumbled for the blanket and found unfamiliar linen instead of his. I blinked at the ceiling, at the unfamiliar curve of a light fixture, and the world came into focus in pieces. And a small memory filled my mind. The one woman who I did not expect to play a game like this one. Though I knew that I should have expected it.

Amelia.

A small body was sitting on a low chair by the window, knees tucked up to her chest, chin on them. Her hair was the same curl I knew so well, but her face, it was pale and damp from tears. For one awful sec