The Surviving Trace (Surviving Time, #1)

by Calia Read

That’s why he can be so cruel. He wants to hurt you before you can hurt him.

I’ve never been good at taking demands from people. Some may think that’s my worst quality—the very thing to get me in trouble. But I believe it’s the best part of me.

In a sea of coiffed hair and uptight personalities, she’s a feral child. Free and unstrained. She’s the most fascinating thing I’ve ever seen. She’s failing miserably at the one-step, but she does so with a gracefulness that has everyone wondering if they’re the ones who have the steps wrong.

Love is hoarse cries. It’s anger. It’s sadness. It’s happiness and laughter. It’s everything wrapped into one. Love is one of the heaviest of words to exist. It’s a miracle anyone survives it. It’ll be a wonder if I survive it.

His brows are slanted low as he searches my face. “I love you,” he says abruptly and sternly, as though the words are too hard to say. It’s the angriest “I love you” in the history of I love yous. But I understand. Here’s a man who views emotions as a weakness, and in his life, being weak is never an option.

I more than loved her. She’s a religion, and I’m a believer. For the rest of my life, I’ll worship every single part of her.

“No matter what happens tomorrow, I love you forever,” I say. Étienne squeezes my hand and kisses the crown of my head. “I know. Nothin’ changes between us. You’re my surviving trace.”