“I’d feel the same way if I thought my sister was placing herself in danger,” she said. “We always worry about the ones we love.”

“That’s just it.” He gave a hollow laugh. “I didn’t worry about him when I left. He was supposed to be safe here. I never dreamed any harm would come to him.”

“It must have been a terrible shock,” she said soberly.

Every muscle in Reese’s body coiled tight, and his arms twitched with pent-up emotion. “It should have been me,” he whispered. “Instead of him. He should be alive now. God, fate, the universe—whatever you want to call it—made a mistake.”

Sophie reached out a hand like she wanted to touch his cheek, then pulled back, her eyes shining with regret. “Edmund shouldn’t have been taken from this world in the prime of his life—but that doesn’t mean you should have been. Sometimes awful, tragic, pointless things just … happen. It’s why we need to be thankful for every day we have on this earth.” She paused and swiped at her eyes. “I’m thankful that you’re here, too—and that I’ve had the chance to know you.”

Reese breathed in through his nose, then slowly exhaled through his mouth, trying to let the anguish drain out of him. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Sophie.”

“Maybe not. But I know you’re a good, kind person.”

He snorted at that. “If I was, I’d sleep a hell of a lot better at night.”

“You’re not going to scare me away,” she said serenely. “I’m here—and I’m not going anywhere. You say that I don’t know you, but I want to. Desperately. So why don’t you start by telling me what it is, exactly, that haunts you.”

His fingertips tingled and his head began to buzz. He opened his mouth to say something, but the words caught in his throat.

As though she could sense his distress, she scooted a little closer to him. The scents of rain and earth and sunshine filled his head, calming him slightly. “I assume it’s related to your time in the infantry.”

He nodded, grateful that she seemed to understand.

“Tell me,” she said gently. “Drag the monsters out of your head and name them; perhaps then, you’ll rob them of their power.”

“I made a promise to my men. To my friends,” he choked out. “I told them that I’d always fight beside them, that I’d never desert them. They knew I couldn’t promise that we’d all make it home alive, but I swore I’d stand by them, no matter what.”

“But then Edmund died,” Sophie said, her voice tinged with sadness.