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For three days, Evelyn stayed hidden in her apartment, riddled with emotion. Yet again, her flame had died, unreachable in the depths of her soul. She tried reaching for it, grasping it or stretching it like a tired muscle, but it never reached back out. Its absence only solidified her decision to reject Cyrus—no, Kade—no matter how violently her stomach twisted into knots.

On the first day, she’d gathered her things to leave. Packed her satchel, laced her best boots, even fastened her cloak to travel. She stood at her door, Maxie at her side, but couldn’t.

And what is your plan, exactly? To keep running from your duty like you did two years ago?

Kade’s hurtful words replayed in her mind, rooting her feet to the floorboards of her apartment. Yet, he was right. It had been her plan. But when she shut her eyes and remembered Kade’s judgment, she couldn’t do it. Leaving felt wrong, horrible. With a vampyr on the loose, Callum still needed her. The murders were a mystery she could not abandon. Not with the witches’ creed involved, not with other lives at stake.

So she unpacked and cleaned, scrubbed and tidied her apartment instead, doing anything and everything to not think of Cyrus. Every time she did, she reminded herself he was actually Kade, then her thoughts would spiral out of control until she found something else to clean. The cycle never ended. Her immaculate apartment could not cure her heartache. Abandoning her duty, lying to her sisters, running from her coven . . . Evelyn had believed those had been the hardest things she’d ever done, but pushing Kade away, denying herself her fated, was the hardest.

In the days of being alone, Maxie side-eyeing her on occasion and choosing to sleep on the windowsill instead at the foot of her bed like she always did, a nagging part of Evelyn wondered if any of it had been real with Kade. Their shared moments. His kindness. Their kisses. Had it all been an act to convince her to come home? An unwavering part of her didn’t doubt them. No. What was between them was real. He was her fated and she . . . Thinking about how real it had been, the promise of what could’ve been, only hurt worse.

When Evelyn finally found a few hours of sleep, she tossed and turned as screams on the wind jostled her awake. She blamed her turbulent thoughts for her weariness, but as sleep overtook her again, something bellowed in the hills, finding her deep in her dreams.

A knock sounded on the morning of the third day. Evelyn envisioned Kade outside her door, flanked by his pack and her coven. Her thoughts ran wild, anxiety rooting her in place. How could she face him so soon? What would she say to her sisters?

“Evelyn, it’s me, Aster,” her friend’s sweet voice said. “We haven’t seen you in three days. Is everything all right?”

We?

“It’s Tovi, too, Evelyn,” her best friend said. “Let us in.”

Irrational thoughts still spiraled in Evelyn’s mind. What if it was a trap? What if her sisters stood out there, pretending to be Aster and Tovi? No. She was being ridiculous and paranoid. There was no way they’d make it here during storm season. Evelyn moved to the door and eased it open. To her relief, she found both her friends on her doorstop, alone.

“Oh dear,” Aster said, worry scrunching her brows.

“You look worse than I thought,” Tovi muttered.

Evelyn glared.

Aster held up a large brown paper bag, breaking the tension. “We went by Finn’s fish stand. Turns out their special was seafood chowder.”

Food didn’t interest Evelyn, but Aster’s lively energy did. She opened the door wider, still prepared for Kade to jump out at any moment, but her betrothed, Son of the God, was nowhere to be seen. Why was she disappointed?

Evelyn’s sour, desperate mood had soaked into every inch of the apartment. No fire glowed at the hearth and the sun, obscured by a thick layer of slate-colored clouds, cast a low light through the window. But Aster brightened the space and Tovi’s smile washed away the creeping discomfort of being alone with her doubts for three days straight.

“What happened?” Tovi whispered.

Evelyn leaned against the kitchen counter, watching as Aster unboxed and laid out a Finn’s fish stand feast. Without her realizing, tears had begun to stream down her face. Her words spilled from her as she explained what happened between her and Kade. She held nothing back—no detail, no emotion, no secret.

Tovi gathered her in her arms, holding her tight. “My word, Evelyn.”

Aster’s lips thinned, her eyes downcast. A blush bloomed on her cheeks, and her friend shoved a few fries into her mouth.

“Fucking flames, you knew,” Evelyn whispered.

“Damn dandelions, Saige, I mean Evelyn,” Aster said. “Please don’t be too mad at me. I only learned who he was days ago, and he promised he’d tell you himself. I knew he was a werewolf the moment I met him. But I didn’t know he was your werewolf—”

Evelyn peeled herself from Tovi’s arms. “Aster—”

“I guess I shouldn’t say that, should I? It’s . . . I knew you were a witch but didn’t realize you were Daughter of the Goddess until you set the Gray Wood free and—”

“Aster,” Evelyn said. “I’m not mad.”

Relief flashed over Aster’s features. “You’re not? Wait, why? How?”

Evelyn snorted. “For one, you’re an impossible person to be mad at, but I’ve been lying and keeping secrets for so long. I’d be a bit of a hypocrite if I was mad at you for doing the same.”

“So, you’re not mad at Kade, then?” Tovi asked.