XXXXVII

Just on the out skirts of the ruined Castle Black, Present Day.

Rosalie

“Life hasn’t exactly been kind to either of us Rosie.” Landon’s voice brought me out of my reverie. Cashing back to earth with a bang that was so forceful, that for a moment, it knocked by breath clean out of me.

He spoke in a careful voice. One that was mixed with cheerfulness but held a decidedly bittersweet undertone. The way someone might speak to try and bring a bit of light to the conversation, or even when you try to connect with someone.

But for me, in that moment. It felt like mockery.

“Oh?” I questioned, with a small measure of disbelief in my voice. “I didn’t realise that you had a family that you had no choice but to leave behind somewhere.”

“That’s cruel.” Landon stood abruptly besides me, his hands resting in the back pocket of his trousers, as he looks down at me with something resembling bitter disappointment. “Pain comes in forms. Sometimes, not as obvious as others.”

I gulped down the guilt that