NinaEnzo and I followed the old man, Frank, into the diner. We were short on time, but Frank was right; we had an important journey ahead of us, and we couldn’t accomplish our goals on nothing but coffee and potato chips. Neither of us had eaten in over a day by now, and we were both starving.Fra
“Can you tell us at all about this place, Frank?” I asked, feeling unreasonably confident.Frank froze. I felt Enzo’s hand tighten on my leg beneath the table, but I wasn’t afraid. Frank, just like everyone else around here, was just a normal working man. In fact, he had done nothing except prove th
NinaMy eyes widened even more as the old man’s words echoed in my head.“No one needs to die. You can fight the dark sister without anyone getting hurt.”“How… How did you…” I began to stutter, but before I could get anything coherent out of my mouth, the old man suddenly slapped a wad of money dow
“Thanks, Frank,” I said, managing a weak smile. “We really appreciate your help.”“Yup.” Enzo reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, then rifled through it for some cash and held the wad out to Frank. “Here,” he said. “For the gas and the food.”Frank chuckled again, like more iron poke
NinaEnzo and I walked for a long time after that. Frank said that it would only be an hour by foot, but it felt much longer. Maybe it was just my own perception of time getting the best of me; after all, as the sky began to darken it started to feel more ominous in the misty woods, and so every sec
Enzo slowly reached over, his hand sliding on top of mine. He nodded his head in the opposite direction, indicating for us to run. I nodded in response, and began to mentally prepare myself for what could be the most harrowing chase of my life.But then…The rogues kept moving. They didn’t seem to s
NinaEnzo and I walked for a while longer after that. The rain only kept getting heavier, making me wish that I had thought to bring some sort of protection against getting soaked, but as the tall pointed roofs of the mansion eventually came into view over the treetops I realized that we might not b
Maybe Enzo was right. Maybe we would have to wait and come back when they relaxed their security. Either that, or we would have to wait for Selena to come to us, assuming she hadn’t given up on trying to make Enzo her mate.However, as I crouched behind the bushes and chewed my lip nervously, I sudd
Nina The warm summer breeze brushed across my skin as I stood on the patio, clutching my robe tightly around my body. Laughter and splashes echoed up from the pool below, where our friends were already gathered for our big end-of-summer party. I should have been down there too, soaking up the ve
“What... what do you mean?” He braced his hands on the doorframe, leaning in closer with a heavy sigh. “I mean, by the time I caught up to them this morning, I only saw them long enough to get that photo before they were boarding a speedboat and taking off. Hell, I’m still not even totally sure wh
Nina My breath caught in my throat as I pulled open the front door expecting to see excited party guests, only to be immediately met with the sight of Luke’s grim expression. His brow was furrowed in a deep frown, his lips pressed into a tight line—clear signs that something was very wrong. “Luk
Nina I huffed out a breath as I hoisted the oversized cardboard box higher in my arms, carefully navigating my way through the living room. Strings of fairy lights poked out haphazardly from the top, and I could feel the weight of glass jars and other assorted decor inside shifting precariously wi
Then, at the last possible second, the scout seemed to find an extra burst of speed. He surged forward, hurtling between two towering oak trees and vanishing into the cover of the forest beyond. “Dammit!” I slammed my palms against the rough bark of the nearest trunk, powerless to do anything but
Enzo The crunch of leaves and snap of twigs echoed through the trees as Matt and I tore after the Schreiber scout. Our breaths came in ragged gasps, the hot summer air burning our lungs. Overhead, a little red bird chirped and flitted through the green canopy of trees; Daphne. But even she wasn’
Shaking my head, I turned without another word and stormed out of the fitting room. I took the two strides across the hall to Jessica’s fitting room and knocked on the door, folding my arms across my chest. “Jess? You in there?” There was a muffled thump in the fitting room, followed by the soun
Nina “How’s it looking in there?” I called out, rapping lightly on the wooden door of Jessica’s fitting room. “Um… decent, I guess?” her muffled voice floated back a moment later, although I could sense the uncertainty in her tone. “Decent? That’s it? Come on, Jess, this is your wedding gown w
Had I really known him at all, I wondered? Or had I merely been too self-absorbed and naive to see past the facade of unshakable command he projected? After a long silence, I found my voice. “Why didn’t he ever tell me that?” “He didn’t want you to see his weakness, I suppose,” Angelica replied