Embers of Steel (The Shadowforged Duet #2)

Chapter 1

Dante

27 hours, 46 minutes, 38 seconds.

Air is said to be life.

A necessity. A gift.

What an exquisitely crafted deception.

They claim it sustains, that it fills your lungs, fuels your heart.

But mine? Mine burns.

Every breath is a blade, honed cruelly by absence.

Barbed. Useless. Mocking.

Oxygen doesn’t soothe. It scorches on the way in, settles like acid in my chest, reminding me…

She’s gone.

And the world dares to keep turning.

The walls tilt, the ground shifts, but I remain motionless. Darkness blooms at the edges of my vision.

She’s not here.

So why the fuck am I?