Page 35 of Intrigue

Cassian will fight it. He’ll make his calls, try to find a way out. He won’t.

Because the ground beneath him already belongs to me.

And now, so does Selene.

I’ve won, exactly as planned. So why does victory feel like defeat?

Chapter 11

Selene

I wake with the sheets tangled around my legs. And sweat cooling against my skin. The scent of him still clings to me, no matter how many times I tell myself it’s gone. Sandro lingers like a haunting phantom, pressing against my ribs, curling around my throat. My stomach twists. I should get up.

Instead, I close my eyes. Just for a second.

The sounds of the apartment settle around me, from the scrape of a spatula to the clink of plates and the low hum of Cassian singing under his breath in the kitchen. I inhale. It should be comforting. It used to be comforting. Now it chokes me with something sharp and bitter.

I swallow it down and force myself up. The sheets slip away, and I push my hair from my face, fingers trembling. The moment my feet hit the floor, I regret it.

I force myself forward anyway.

Cassian looks up as I enter the kitchen. A warm smile breaks across his face, bright and easy, like he doesn’t see the cracks. Or maybe he does and chooses to pretend they don’t exist. He stands over the stove, flipping eggs, barefoot, wearing the old t-shirt I love. The one I used to steal.

He also hasn’t been sleeping.

I see because I lie next to him every night and it is like I can hear everything he is thinking out loud. I see it in the way his smiles don’t reach his eyes anymore.

I swallow the lump in my throat.

“You’re up,” he says, tone light. “Thought I’d let you sleep in. Made breakfast.”

“Thanks.” My voice scrapes against my throat. I reach for a glass of water instead of looking at him.

“You’re quiet.”

I sip my water. Swallow. Try to steady my hands. “Bad dreams.”

His eyes move to mine. “Something like that?”

I nod. He studies me for a long moment before setting the spatula down and stepping closer. “Selene.”

I exhale slowly. “Don’t.”

His jaw tenses. “I told you not to worry about me. I have it under control.”

I squeeze my fingers around the glass. “How could I not worry? Because of Sandro’s interference, now you have a debt to pay wavering over your head. And you have less than a month to pay.”

Cassian’s throat bobs. He looks away for a second, rubbing the back of his neck before facing me again. “I just want you to trust me.”

I don’t hear the rest of what Cassian says. Something about lawyers. About options.

Options. Like we have any.

Alessandro doesn’t give options. He takes. He crushes.

And he’s doing it now.

“Selene?”