My father’s voice trailed off at that point. He dropped his head a bit, as though the memories pained him to recount. “We shared secrets with one another,” he said. “Secrets that no one else—not even your mother, Nina—ever discovered.” “But it all went south, didn’t it?” Enzo whispered. Aldric
Nina The cool summer night air was a refreshing feeling; it was much more moderate here, where my dad’s mansion resided in the north. Nothing at all like the heat and thick humidity of the jungle where Mila had created her horrific kingdom. “I just can’t believe it,” I whispered, hanging my head
Enzo The leather punching bag felt like steel under my sore knuckles, but I kept punching. No matter how out of breath and tired I got, I couldn’t stop. Not when something so important was on the horizon. Mila. It had been almost two weeks since our escapade in the dread queen’s obsidian palac
My voice trailed off. I didn’t want to say it, but I didn’t really need to; Matt knew what I was talking about. “It’s okay to be angry, Enzo,” he said softly. “Just don’t take it out on her.” “I’m not. You can trust me on that.” I ran a hand through my hair and sighed. Truthfully, ever since t
Nina “Hold still.” I dabbed at Matt’s bloody nose with an antiseptic wipe. He winced, but didn’t pull away as I cleaned away the oozing blood to reveal raw, bruised skin. “It’s not broken,” I said softly. “Just cut up real good.” “Fuck. I’m so sorry, Matt,” Enzo, who was standing beside me w
“Enzo?” I called out. “You home?” “I’m in here.” I rounded the corner to the living room to find Enzo sitting on the sofa. I couldn’t help but furrow my brow a bit as I looked at him; no movie, no video game, no book. He was just… sitting there. He hadn’t even changed his shirt since what had ha
Enzo I stood outside the interrogation room, flexing my fingers as I stared down at my palm. The remnants of a few small cuts were there; scrapes on my knuckles from where I had beaten Matt, and then a few cuts on my palm where I had crushed that glass last night. “I scared her,” I thought to my
“And why are they hiring you to come after my family?” He shrugged. “Something about blood.” “That’s it?” I growled, growing frustrated by his blase nature. “Just… blood?” “Yup.” “Ronan.” I stood again and crossed over to him, stooping so that our faces were almost aligned. “If you’re withho
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