"Death. I could see it right in front of me, and my biggest regret was I didn't reach the S rank. My dream."
She didn't sit—never did when she was like this, her body a live wire, trembling not with fear but with the weight of failure.
Her fists clenched, her shoulders tense, electricity crackling faintly along her knuckles.
"I had to be pulled out at the last second," she said, her voice tight, bitter. "My supervisor saved me. I should've died."
She wasn't crying—Liss didn't cry.
She just stood there, her body a coiled spring, her blue eyes burning with frustration, her breath uneven.
Kael crossed the room, careful, stopping a step away.
"You didn't die. That's what matters."
"Is it?" she snapped, her voice breaking, her gaze locking on his.
"Because surviving sure as hell doesn't feel like it means anything anymore."
"You're not weak," he said, his tone firm, unyielding.
