Chapter 31

• Cesmae’s POV
• I left the storeroom with my thoughts in disarray, my heart still pounding from the encounter with Raizel. The weight of everything that had happened—the kiss, Mimimi’s desperate plea, Enid’s fearful submission—pressed heavily on my chest. I needed space, needed to think, so I returned to my room, hoping the solitude would bring some clarity.
• But the quiet only amplified the chaos in my mind. I couldn’t stop thinking about the kiss, the way Raizel’s lips had felt against mine, the intensity of his gaze. And then, the way he had pulled away so coldly, as if nothing had happened at all.