Page 166 of Buried in Blood

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The door opens.

Not all the way. Just a crack. But it’s enough.

Astra stands there barefoot in leggings and an oversized T-shirt, her hair messy, a coffee mug in one hand.

For a second, she doesn’t move.

Then her eyes widen. Her body goes stiff.

“Harmony?” she whispers, voice like broken porcelain.

I nod.

She opens the door wider, but doesn’t move aside. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“I know.”

Her eyes flick to the street behind me, scanning for danger. For him. “Is Damien—”

“No. Not yet.”

She swallows. Her free hand trembles.

And still—she steps back.

I enter the house like a stray animal. Careful. Hesitant. I expect the door to slam shut behind me with a bullet.

It doesn’t.

The door clicks closed. The deadbolt slides into place.

I breathe for the first time in hours.

Astra walks into the living room without a word. I follow. She sets her mug down on the coffee table and turns to face me.

“You look like Hell.”

“I crawled out of it yesterday,” I murmur.

She stares at me for a beat, then crosses the room in two strides and wraps her arms around me. Tight. Fierce. Shaking.

Icollapse.

The gun clatters to the floor.

My knees buckle, and I crumple in her arms.

“It’s okay,” she whispers, running her fingers through my hair. “You’re safe. I’ve got you.”

I don’t deserve this.

I betrayed them.

I almost killed her.

And still—she holds me like I’m not poison.

“Lucien can’t know,” I say hoarsely.

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