The first time I fought him, I thought it would be over in seconds.
The first time I defeated him, I thought he would crumble.
But Ed didn't break.
And I hated him for it.
Zareth was different after he returned.
He smiled more. Laughed more.
As if running away had freed him from something.
But the worst part—the part that made my blood boil—was how he treated Ed.
Like a friend. Like an equal.
Like a brother.
Not me. Not the sister who had trained with him for years.
Not the sister who had cried herself to sleep every night after he left.
No.
Instead, he gave his attention to that human.
A human who had no right to be here.
I should have ignored him.
I should have let him fade into the background like a passing shadow.
But I couldn't.
Because no matter how much I tried to look away—he was always there.
.
The training grounds were silent as we stood across from each other.
I saw the way Zareth looked at him—concerned, protective, proud.
It made me sick.
