Chapter 215 I Let You Finish Them

• [XENA]
• I feel the eyes on me the moment I enter the Rose Pavilion—every single pair directs at me as I put a step across the threshold. For half a second, my body reacts the way it always has: leave. Turn around. Find somewhere quieter where nobody is whispering my name or watching me like they’re waiting for me to trip so they can laugh when I fall.
• But then I turn to my side and see that Kasumi is smiling. Her eyes move across the room, taking in the painted ceilings, the blooming flowers climbing along the walls, the fountains spilling enchanted water that glitters beneath the setting sunlight. And I remember why I agreed to come—not for them, for her.