Chapter 23

• Aria's perspective
• I heard the door open a few minutes after Neon was gone, I shrank back thinking he was the one who came back but it was Silas. He came in holding a box, I curled up beside the bed, and when he reached out to touch me I moved away.
• “I’m not gonna hurt, Aria. I brought some ointment.” He lifted the box and dropped it gently in front of me. His eyes fell on the purplish mark around my arm, where Neon had held me. I saw his jaw jutting.