POV: JASMINE
He buried his face into my neck and held me like if he let go, the world would swallow him whole.
And right now, sitting down here and forcing this stale coffee cooling in my hand down my throat, I realized something I hadn't let myself admit last night:
He was getting worse and unstable in a way that couldn't be masked anymore.
He hadn't gotten better. He'd just buried the rot.
And now it was starting to seep through the cracks he'd been hiding over the years.
I wasn't afraid of what he might do to me.
I was afraid of what he'd become when I was finally gone.
Because Alaric wasn't just unhinged.
He was shattering.
And I didn't know how many more pieces were left to break.
I hadn't even dropped the cup of coffee when a high–pitched, syrupy giggle broke the silence and nearly startled me into cardiac arrest.
