Chapter 30 The Gap

• The air in her room hums soft — dust motes drifting through the crack of hallway light Knox didn’t bother closing behind him. He’s still sitting on her bed, boots half off the rug, palm warm where it cups her throat like a promise he’s not ready to break.
• Ellerei Vale — or the girl who used to be Elaria Bellanti — breathes slow under his thumb. Not steady, not really, but real enough it makes his pulse knock harder under her palm where he pressed her hand to his chest.
• Knox’s other hand ghosts up — slides under her hair, the white streak slipping soft between his knuckles. His eyes flick over her face like he’s trying to memorize every piece of the mask now that it’s cracked.