033 | Wanted Dead or Alive

Aurora’s POV

I was vaguely aware of being carried beneath a beautiful canopy of autumn trees. Through barely-open eyes I watched, mesmerised, as the blur of orange and red swept overhead. Thin cracks of wintry blue and brown branches criss-crossed the leaves.

For a moment, I wondered if this was the afterlife. It seemed too striking to be earth. My heart was full, so full I feared it might burst, and the pain I’d felt had faded away, leaving behind a sense of weightlessness and buoyancy in its wake.

There was a voice in this world, too, a constant, low murmur. I couldn’t quite make out the words, but the sound of his voice was a comfort to me.

“You’re going to be okay, Aria, I promise. I’m not going to let anything happen to you. He’s dead. Dominic Butcher is dead. I couldn’t let him live, not after he hurt you. I will never let anyone hurt you again.”

I snuggled in closer to his chest – then cried out, as moving tore at my wounds. The pain flared back to life, a burning crescendo o