Page 58

A roll of thunder was my only answer.

“It makes sense,” Persy cut in pointedly, looking at us curiously while she returned the conversation to more important matters. “You go and watch who reacts to you. Who is combative and who is fine.”

Daphne snorted. “I know one person who is going to be combative.”

Persy laughed, knowing exactly who she was talking about.Damon.

I looked up to Adrian to explain to find him already looking at me. No, looking was too soft a word.

He was staring at me, the entire oppressive weight of his attention slamming into me. Forcing me to answer his silent question. “Um, my.” I had to restart, not knowing why my throat felt tight. A lie, really. I did. And it had everything to do with the fact that Damon might get nasty in front of him. The hesitation only served to inch Adrian’s intensity higher. “It’s likely that my ex-boyfriend will be in attendance.”

There was half a second that I thought Adrian flinched, that his shoulders tightened and his biceps flexed. But his face remained completely impassive. He didn’t even remotely look phased by the information. Of course he didn’t. He likely already knew and didn’t care.

That was fine. Itwasfine. “It’ll be good,” I said breezily. “That way—”

Whatever I was about to say was cut off by the sharp snap of Adrian’s door. Emre, who I wasn’t aware could ever step out in public with a hair out of place, was standing there. Breathing heavy, his hair disheveled, and shirt slightly wrinkled.

“What?” The word was a harsh snap, like a clap of thunder.

“You need to come with meright now,” he answered Adrian.

Without another word, Adrian marched after him. Leaving me standing there wide-eyed and more thana little confused. Persy came up to stand and walked over to me, placing a graceful, steady hand on the still-burning skin of my shoulder.

“He does that sometimes,” she said, looking over at Daphne to get her agreement. “He gets so focused on fixing the problem he forgets to say goodbye. One time he disappeared in the middle of a sentence.”

I smiled at her, a close-lipped pull that clearly exposed the thread of disappointment curling through my stomach because Persy’s eyes flashed with pity.

And I hated it. I hated that she could see what I was hiding even from myself.

I shoved it down and away, into a far and dark corner of my mind and straightened my spine. “I’ll see him soon, I’m sure,” I said nonchalantly. Reinstating the casual, transactional nature of our agreement. “I’m pretty sure this just went from conspiracy to coup.”

I’d meant it as a joke, but Daphne’s sharp inhale was hard to miss. But Persy, bless her, simply laughed and gave me a quick hug before taking a step back into the haunting, dark corner of the world she called home.

Leaving Daphne and I alone. I looked over to her to ask her to take me home, only to find her looking at me with her head cocked.

I knew that look. “Don’t say it. Please.”

Daphne raised her hands in surrender, walking over to me. “Okay. Just be careful. Adrian isn’t one to change his mind once it’s made up.”

She didn’t need to explain further. That what he’d made his mind up on was to have zero romantic attachments. It was clear, to me at least, that he was already too uncomfortable having so many people he openly loved. He’d probably call themvulnerabilities.“Iknow that.”

Daphne’s wry smile captured everything she was thinking. That in a few short weeks, I’d come to understand Adrian. I wasn’t even trying. It just happened, like I was helpless to it.

But thankfully, she didn’t push it. Instead changing the subject to an old friend of ours from school seamlessly.

Apparently, her best friend and boyfriend were sleeping together behind her back, which was horrible. My personal sympathy for her was slightly dampened by the fact that she was an expert at tearing people down with a few words and had attempted to turn that skill on both me and Daphne at one point, but that wasn’t here nor there.

The point was that Daphne was able to distract me so thoroughly with the gossip that by the time we parted ways with a hug, it took me a second to identify the cause of the lingering tightness in my chest.

The only reminder I needed was the rumble of clouds outside.

Chapter 13

Adrian

I knelt before a pile of broken wood, once a beautifully crafted table. I ran my hand over the jagged edges, barely feeling the places where the splinters threatened to embed themselves in my skin.

It didn’t matter.