Chapter 72 The Touch That Still Burns

• ZOE
• The cabin in the middle of the forest felt like a chosen exile. The wooden walls creaked with the wind, as if they too wanted to scream. Outside, the trees swayed under the dim afternoon light, unaware of the war raging inside me.
• Dante had suggested training. He said he needed to see if I still had reflexes, if the implants had stolen more than just my memory. I knew it was a lie. He just wanted to get away from everyone and from depression. To provoke me. To see if the Zoe he loved was still hidden beneath this new skin.