When he finally spoke, his voice was rough. Raw. Dragged up from somewhere deep.
"You're a mad woman."
Wish's smile widened. "Took you long enough to know. You're such a simpleton."
She stepped back. Put blessed distance between them before her nerve failed entirely.
Her heart raced. Her hands trembled. Every instinct screamed she'd just done something catastrophically stupid.
But she kept her chin high.
"Or should I say obsessed?" She tilted her head. "Because this—" she gestured between them "—this doesn't feel like simple hatred. Hatred is cold. Dismissive. You should just ignore the thing you hate."
Another step back.
"But you're here. Following me. Appearing in my path. You can't seem to stay away."
Her smile turned sharp.
"So maybe you're not sure yourself why you're really here."
For a moment—just a moment—something flickered in Dusk's expression.
Uncertainty.
Then it vanished.
His face went cold. Hard. Final.
