bChapter /bb165 /b

ra

I climb the steps with his presence behind my back. Knowing he’s there gives me a strange sense of relief. A couple of months ago, feeling him where my eyes couldn’t reach would have frozen my blood. Another sign that everything has changed.

The doors open on their own and the first face I see hits like an arrow straight to the chest. Ss is in front of me, with watery eyes, his hair longer than thest time I saw him, and the fun brother lookpletely gone. In its ce, huge dark circles stain the skin beneath his eyes. I don’t know who throws themselves into the other’s arms first, I just know that in the blink of an eye, I’m surrounded by the familiar scent iof /iSs, of my former home.

“I thought I’d never see you again. At least not really you.”

I know exactly what he means and I could contradict him and say I’ll never be the person he knew again. But I decide not to break this. moment with a conversation I don’t want to have. I know it’s impossible, but I swear I smell the soap Mom used.

She wasn’t your mother, whispers the voice in my head.

Thinking of her or any of them as something other than my family is hard.

He buries his fingers in my hair, clinging to me while I feel Cassian Draven’s temper boiling like water in a pot.

“It’s my brother,” I say through our connection.

“Ss is not your brother.”

“I’m not going to argue.”

“Good, because I prefer to spend our time on other things.”

A wave of heat tiptoes down my spine. I slowly pull away from Ss and try to smile, though I’m not sure I seed. He has pain carved into

his face.

“I wasn’t going to let you lose me,” I say.

“I couldn’t bear it, ra.”

I let him hold me by the forearms and look at me as long as he needs, until the fact that I’m here, alive and well, fully sinks in. I have no idea what my absence has truly meant, I just know it almost cost Cassian his sanity.

Someone clears their throat, drawing both our attention.

“No hugs or sweet words for the rest of us?”

Drystan looks as handsome as always, with a half–smile that’s slightly roguish, his hair loose to his shoulders and his clothes matching the color of his eyes: an unfathomable ck. Behind him, to my surprise, I see the unmistakable hair of Evanora. And I say surprise because she seems to be using the vampire’s body to hide, to protect herself. I could swear that before I left she imed to hate him with passion.

I release Ss’s grip and walk toward the open arms of Cassian’s right–hand man.

“Forgive me for almost killing you.”

“You remember?” he asks with a mix of awe and amusement.

1411 Sat 9 Aug at 9 Aug

There are still some gaps

21

member losing control of myself, the bleed, the panicked faces, and how brystan tried to get the banshee to safety from my unleases

have nothing to forgive.” He smiles, showing his fangs, so simr to mine. “In fact, i thank you foring back” He lowers his mouth to my was and with the softness of butterfly wings he whispers words that brand my heart like a hot ken. “And for choosing him. He has no idee how much he needs you.”

Best notice the effect of his words because he lets go of me and steps aside, leaving me face to face with the closest thing i had to a friend here, along with Ank. Ankhiale! I’m dying to go down there and kill time with her, though ear be a white before things calm down ent be beading dusty books while the world wants to hunt me.

take a step toward her, ready for a new hug.

“Maybe you should think twice before hugging your little lying friend.”

Cassian’s voice is so cold it could freeze the very Pits. Drystan and I turn at the same time, throwing him a withering re. His friend looks Ange cham

“we’ve discussed this many times.”

And i still think that if she had told us everything she knew, things would’ve turned out differently.”

m here, aren’t I? That’s what matters.” I grab the banshee’s hand, whose face doesn’t stop showing guilt. “Maybe we took a longer path but what’s important is that we’re together.”

Evanora squeezes my hand and strokes the back of it with her thumb. Her albino snake decides to make an appearance then, slithering bfrom /bher hair and coiling part of its body around her neck. It stares at me with its tiny eyes as if weighing whether I’m a threat.

really sorry for how things happened,” says the banshee.

The blue–eyed vampire lets out a snort behind me.

“Cassian, growl.

I don’t know if it’s the sudden movement of my neck or the exhaustion from so many emotions, but I feel the ground tilt a little beneath my fleet. Or maybe it’s me who tilts, because in the blink of an eye, Cassian has me in his hands and is looking at me with concern. His eyes scan every inch of my face like a madman.

What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

Ss makes a move to approach too.

wave my hand to downy it.

“I’m fine. I straighten up with his help and turnin his arms to continue the conversation with the banshee. “Don’t worry about him, enderstand you. Though I’d like you to exin your reasons better.”

Evanora opens her mouth to respond; however, the vampire silences her by picking me up and carrying me away from her.

* re at him.

“Hey! What are you doing?”

“‘s time you rest, There’ll be time to talkter”

i213 /i

1411 Sat b9 /bbAug /b

“That was very rude.”

His lips are pressed tight. He turns his head slightly and looks over his shoulder at my friend.

“Do you mind if I take her to rest? The night has had too many emotions and I think she needs some sleep.”

To that, she can’t say anything. I narrow my eyes a bit, suspicious and wary. I’ve never seen her so submissive. She usually has enough strength to send both vampires to the Underworld and back. Under everyone’s watchful gaze, Cassian heads up the stairs effortlessly. He doesn’t take me to my old quarters, but instead heads straight for his wing of the castle. He doesn’t say a word and I just look at him.

“You don’t have to be so hard on her, you know?”

He lowers his gaze to my face.

“While I thought you wouldn’t wake up again, do you know how many times I asked myself if things would’ve been different had I known what you are?” I open my mouth to reply, but he’s faster and keeps speaking. “I can’t say I wouldn’t have fucked it up; but maybe I wouldn’t have thought I was the one putting you in danger.”

“What do you mean?”

“I pushed you away from me because you made me weak and I was a danger to you. I thought the shapeshifters wanted you just to hurt me, because they had realized you mattered to me. I’m a bastard, sadistic and cruel, but I couldn’t bear them hurting you because of me, more than I already had.”

His eyes trace the fine scars left on my throat after the attack at Ciro’s party. It wasn’t that long ago, but it feels like another life. I tighten my

arms around his body to get closer to him.

“Let me decide who I want near me.”

Reluctantly, he makes the closest gesture to a nod I’ve ever seen from him. He taps the door of his room with the tip of his foot, and it

wees us immediately with the soft light of candles illuminating every corner. He gently ces me on the floor and waits a few seconds to see if I get dizzy again. I seem pretty stable in my shoes, so he turns to close the door. Meanwhile, I look around the room and see it exactly as

it was during our encounters.

“There’s a lot we need to talk about,” I say.