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I lean into his warmth. How can I answer this question? I don’t even know what I’m feeling, but it reminds me of whenI was dropped off at preschool for the first time as a little girl. Everything felt too big, too unfamiliar, too much.

His grip around me tightens. “You don’t have to worry about anything. I’ll burn the whole Four Hundred to the ground if it means keeping you safe.”

It’s not reassuring. Not even a little.

“I miss my dad,” I whisper. “And Violet. Is there any way… Could the pilot make a detour? God, I hate even asking. I told them I couldn’t come home for Thanksgiving because I’m busy studying, but if I could just… If I could just spend a day in Ash Hollow.” I look up at his face. “I just want to see them.”

He’s quiet for a long time. His thumb trails up and down my arm.

Then, he leans in and brushes his lips against my hair. “Anything for my precious girl.”

34

Ava

The rental car is nicer than anything that’s ever driven through my tiny hometown. Sleek, black, and aggressively polished, it looks comically out of place against the fluttering American flags and bicycles laid out on slightly overgrown lawns.

Does Damian feel out of place too? He drives like he owns every road in the world, one hand on the wheel, the other resting on my thigh. But I get the sense that he’s a bit tense. He’s tried to make conversation with Violet since we picked her up, to no avail. She’s too in awe of him.

We’re on our way to bring my dad lunch. He wasn’t able to get a day off work on such short notice, so we’re meeting him at the church.

But just being here is grounding me. Making me feel like a regular person again, instead of a sacrifice for a group of men who think immortality elixirs exist.

But I’m not just a sacrifice, am I? No, Damian’s feelings may be tangled up in power and possession, but they’re real. Twisted, maybe. Complicated, absolutely. But the moments ofwarmth and connection between us are too tender to be purely manipulation.

“So, Violet,” Damian says, glancing at her in the rearview mirror. “Do you play any sports?”

Violet shrugs, her arms wrapped around herself. “I’m not athletically inclined.”

Damian hums, tapping his fingers against the wheel. “Neither is your sister. I’ve seen her swim.” He shakes his head.

That startles a laugh out of Violet.

I reach out and hit him in the shoulder. “You’ve seen me ride, too.”

He nods, squeezing my thigh. “That’s true. Your sister is an excellent rider. What about you?”

Violet raises her chin, smiling in a way that fills my chest with warmth. “I’m an even better rider than Ava.”

I scoff. “Oh, really?”

She nods. “Can you ride a turn around a barrel with only your legs? No reins, no hands?”

Damian shoots me a mock grave expression. “Can you?”

I sigh. “No.”

Violet beams. “Exactly.”

“My family has a ranch in Jackson Hole,” Damian says. “Ava and I were just visiting there. We breed and train performance horses.”

I glance at Violet, and the expression on her face makes my heart squeeze. She looks mesmerized.

“You should come out some time,” Damian says. “I’ll let you ride your pick of the horses.”

Violet’s mouth drops open. “You’d really let me ride?”

He shoots her a teasing smile through the rearview mirror. “If you’re as good as you say you are.”