Light flooded in. I pushed myself upright, barely standing. Thorne stood there, backlit by the hallway. For one fragile heartbeat, I thought he might pull me out.
Then his voice cut through me, colder than anything I’d ever heard.
“Hold her down.”
Before I could react, two bodyguards rushed me. My arms were pinned, my jaw forced open. A bitter liquid was poured down my throat. I choked, coughing violently until blood splattered onto my clothes.
“What… what did you give me?” I croaked as fire spread through my chest.
Then it hit me.
My skin flushed red in blotches. My throat tightened, every breath slicing like knives. I knew this pain. I was allergic to seafood.
Thorne’s voice came calmly through my panic.
“You put peanuts in Lilith’s food. She’s in the hospital now. I warned you not to touch her, but you never listen. This is what she felt.”
He just stood there watching me writhe on the floor. No anger. No regret. Just cold indifference.
“I didn’t…” I tried to speak, but the words fell apart as pain ripped through me. No one cared. No one listened.
The last thing I saw was his face—calm, distant—as darkness swallowed me whole.
---
“Aria. Wake up.”