Chapter 23

• “You can’t just shut me out like this, Ava.” Crown’s voice echoed in the hallway, pulling me out of my thoughts.
• I didn’t turn around. I couldn’t. The last thing I wanted to do was face him, not when my mind was a whirlwind of confusion and betrayal. The tension between us had been growing ever since that stranger—who turned out to be a messenger of sorts for Valen—had threatened us. And the way Crown and Rogan had gone silent about the whole situation, withholding information, made me feel like I was standing on the edge of a cliff with no idea how deep the fall would be.
• “I’m not shutting you out,” I replied, my voice cold and tight, though it didn’t come close to hiding the turmoil inside me. “I just don’t know what to believe anymore.”