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The lights flicker on, dimmed and moody. My eyes shut from the transition, wincing from the tiny stabs happening in my sockets. I recover and open them once more.
Kyra is by the light switch with a faint smile on her lips, her blue, and black neck-length hair giving her a subtle and pleasant look. It fits.That’s Kyra.Unapologetically her.
I place my hand on my waist, taking in the view before me. Emotion rising in the pits, replacing my previous nausea. I gulp it down as best I can as I look at each of them. After a few seconds, we embrace into a deep hug. Our arms find a way to wrap around our bodies like football players huddling for the game.
I smile bright and hard. Something I never did with them before. I've never chosen to hug them. That sentimental gesture felt too raw to me, to at home in my heart. Because the last person I ever willingly hugged was my brother. Then Ronan. And now, it's the one thing I need and crave.
You don’t realize what you have until it’s gone.
I fight back these tears, and I don't know where they’re coming from. Serpents don’t conduct this way. And yet, I can’t help it.
A hot tear rolls down my cheek. The joy setting solid into my core. I sniff to contain the others.
“I missed you ladies,” I admit, tightening my hold around them.
Eve breaks apart first, brushing off her blue denim jacket and plaid shirt. It’s not snug on her whatsoever. “None of that,” she sneers, but I can see the liquid pooling in her icy blue eyes.
Scarlette sniffs, wiping a tear. “That's a first for you. Who are you and what have you done with our sister?”
I send a faint smile.This is me in the flesh, apparently.
I could askherthe same thing. Eve is the tough one, but Scarlette bottles up her emotions worse than I do. Unlike me,with her, she keeps a classy smile on her face and sings out soft encouraging words with her English accent.
She sweeps her long thin braids over her shoulders. “We missed you, too,” Scarlette says with a soft smile.
I glance at Kyra, who’s watched the entire ordeal; she doesn’t cry at all. I do see her weak smile again with a hint of solace in her dark green eyes.
“It was her idea to come,” Kyra responds dryly, glancing slowly at Scarlette.
“Budapest was fun, but we had to check on you,” Scarlette counters, her slanted deep brown eyes looking at me.
“You mean chopping off those assholes fingers wasn’t fun?” Eve adds with a grunt. “I enjoyed it”
I chuckle a little, rolling my eyes to the ceiling. Eve is a special kind of crazy.
“How is it going here, anyway? You didn’t tell us much but—” Eve takes her blade out and swirls it around with her wrist.
“Did you kill him?” Scarlette asks, cutting Eve off.
My eyes bounced from both ladies. Her asking me that question only makes me want to hurl. Nothing went as planned. I tell them how much shit didn't go my way, and that not only did I start working with the man I despised, but I don't hate him anymore—and that he fucked me until I cried genuine tears of euphoria.
I won't add that last part.
I walk through the opening gap in the mini circle and to my dagger. “About that,” I start off slowly, turning back to them after grabbing it from the floor. I’m not sure why I’m nervous.Maybe it’s because you planned this revenge for years, marking his death no matter what.They knew the severity. But, like the weather, things changed.
Eve dips her hand to listen. Scarlette crosses her arms over her black coat, her tongue digging into the side of her mouth. Kyra only watches with a blank stare.
My finger grazes over the scales on the handle. “He actually was after the same men who killed my brother.” I pause, eyeing them to wait for comments. They continue staring. “So, we teamed up together.”
Scarlette’s eyes blink, trying to register what I said. Eve's head cocks back confused.
“I saw this coming,” Kyra says blandly, stepping back to lean on the wood table topped with neatly placed books.
I snap my head to her, my brows denting inward. “Saw it coming?” I huff with offense.
“Teamed up?” Scarlette asks, ignoring my bewilderment.
I slowly glanced at Scarlette and then Eve again, chewing on my lip to think this through. I need to lean on a wall. Shit. “We started working together.”