Chapter 61

• "Why did you come back, Crown?!" The words left my mouth like a whip crack, hot and furious. I barely recognized my own voice, thick with disbelief, frustration, and something else—something painful. "You should have stayed away. You could have stayed away."
• Crown didn’t flinch. His eyes—those warm, impossible eyes—locked with mine, filled with that same unwavering determination that had first drawn me to him. But now, that fire was dimmed. There was something broken behind it. Something hurt.
• "I couldn't let you face him alone," he said softly, his voice hoarse, like the words had been pulled from deep inside him. “You needed me, Ava. You always will.”