Chapter 16

• KNOX
• I stride away from the pavilion, my boots crunching against the gravel path as a war wages inside me. My father's urgent mind-link still echoes in my head, demanding my immediate presence, but all I can think about is Aubrey's confused expression as I abandoned our conversation. The cherry blossom petals swirl around my feet, carried by the evening breeze as I reluctantly put distance between us.
• "Damn it," I mutter under my breath, running a hand through my hair. I'd finally gotten her to talk to me after days of avoidance, finally started to break through that carefully constructed wall she's built around herself, and now this.