Chapter 117

Ophelia

As the three of us approached the air seemed to shift.

Smoke billowed up into the night sky, thick and cloying as I inhaled it into my lungs. In the distance were shouts and screams to call the fire department so that they might put out the flames.

I wiped the sweat off my forehead and branched off from Ryker and Jude, who seemed torn between following me and keeping their distance from my father. In the end they chose to trail close behind, their guards up and firmly in place. Magic swirled in the air around us, creating a stillness that I could feel deep within my very bones.

“What’s he doing here?” I asked, my voice echoing despite the crackle of burning wood in the background. “I thought we were meeting up with your old friend.”

I made sure not to mention Haruto Nakamura by name in fear that my father would think I betrayed him.

My eyes strayed to Nail Sharpe. He stood beside my father, looking wholly out of place in his striped Polo and khaki’s. Even his loafers were fres