I turned my back on him, the gesture final. The sand shifted under my bare feet as I walked toward the water's edge, putting the physical distance between us that I so desperately needed. I could feel his gaze on my back, a heavy, lingering weight, but I didn't look back.
I closed my eyes and focused on the familiar scent of pine trees back home. It didn't take long before I was standing in the middle of my bedroom.
I was home.
A sob caught in my throat, part relief, part overwhelming grief. I was safe. But I was also irrevocably changed.
Thethys was quiet, a subdued presence in my mind. The fight had taken its toll on both of us, and the distance pains weren't helping either.
I stumbled into the connected bathroom, my body screaming with every movement. I caught sight of myself in
