Burning Ivy (KORT, #1)

by Brandy Hynes

“I’m not asking for apologies. I’m asking you to understand that I’m not quite the same. I have no idea how this shaped me, or what I’m feeling, or how to act. Just don’t give up on me.” “To the ends of the earth,” Wells whispers, his raspy tenor eliciting goose bumps along my neck. “I love you exactly as you are, Little Storm. Always.” The other three all straighten, mouths slack to counter, but it’s Ty who speaks first, his hand gripping my forearm with a compassionate squeeze. “Fuck no, Freckles. We’d never give up on you, no matter what. You never gave up on us.” “You felt alone,” Gage adds, plainly affronted. “But we were fucking there with you for every agonizing minute. Forced to fucking watch with our damn hands tied.” That response makes me chuckle. Empathy isn’t Gage’s strong suit, but his devotion is clear all the same. Liam’s brows reach for the heavens, his hazels twinkling beneath. “I’m gonna have to play the I-took-a-fucking-bullet-for-you card, High Society. There’s no walking away for me. Ever.” He tilts his head, arm hooked over the seat while his face scrunches in rumination. “We were all shaped by this, but that which doesn’t kill us …” “Makes us stronger,” I finish.

I am not gods strongest soldier