They didn't speak for a while.
The forest was quieter now. Only the sound of the soft rhythm of their steps pressing against the earth. Olivia felt the heat of Lucian's hand wrapped around hers, but even that warmth couldn't touch the cold sitting in her chest.
She had imagined Gauss's death a hundred different ways. Screaming. Burning. Begging. And yes—this had been the most fitting end she could've hoped for.
So why did it feel like nothing?
Lucian stopped beside a crooked tree, and Olivia did too. He looked at her again—really looked. His fire-lit eyes searched her face, waiting for something.
"Say it," she said quietly.
His brow furrowed. "Say what?"
"You think I'm broken now."
"I don't," he replied. "But I think you're bleeding in a way that doesn't leave a stain."
Her lips twitched. It wasn't a smile, but it was something. "That's poetic for a guy who just fed a man to a monster."
He exhaled, half-amused, half-exhausted. "You needed justice. Not closure."
