Chapter 203

• Rose's POV
• I could barely hold my head up, my body trembling where Shirin had eased me down beside the broken altar. Every breath scraped my chest like glass. My vision swam, but I forced my eyes to stay open because if I looked away—even for a heartbeat—I felt like something worse would happen.
• Arman, Roshan, and Shirin moved in front of me, forming a barrier between their father and us, while Kavian lay a few steps away, unmoving except for the shallow rise and fall of his chest. Blood stained his clothes, his scent weak and broken, and the sight of him like that sent a sharp, helpless ache straight through me.