Page 39 of Mystic's Sunrise

I didn’t want to take that from her.

But keeping it from her felt just as wrong.

“Fuck,” I muttered, pushing my hands onto my hips.

Spinner caught the shift in me, his brows drawing together. “You gonna tell Zeynep?”

I hesitated. “I don’t know.”

His nostrils flared. “She deserves to know. And she might know where she’d go.”

“I know that,” I snapped, more at myself than at him. “But I also know she’s been through enough. She’s got enough ghosts in her head without addin’ another.”

Spinner sighed and shook his head. “Lucy wouldn’t want her worryin’.”

“And she will, so just let me tell her in my own way.”

I glanced down the hall toward Zeynep’s room, that weight settling deep in my chest.

This wasn’t just about what was right. It was about what would set her back while she was healing.

And I wasn’t sure I was willing to be the one to do that.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

THE MOMENT BRENDAtold me Lucy had left, theworld tilted. My fingers clenched the fabric of my sweatpants, my stomach twisting into knots.

“What do you mean she’s gone?” I wanted to scream the words, but they stayed locked behind my teeth.

Brenda sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed. “She and Spinner had it out. It got ugly, and she took off.”

I shook my head.No, no, no.Lucy wouldn’t just leave. Not unless she felt like she had no other choice.

Brenda hesitated, then dropped the real hit. “The guys think she was involved with Fang. That she had ties to Dragon Fire.”

My stomach turned, the shock hitting like ice water down my spine.No. That’s not true.Lucy despised those men.

I shoved the blanket off, swinging my legs over the side of the bed. My body still ached—healing but weak—but right now, I didn’t care. I had to find Lucy. I had to make them see.

“Easy, sweetheart,” Brenda murmured, placing a firm hand on my shoulder. “You’re not strong enough to—”

The door opened, and Mystic walked in. The second I saw him, the words I’d been holding back tore free.

“Kulüp Lucy hakkinda yaniliyor!” The club was wrong about Lucy. I knew it in my bones.

The sound startled even me—rough and broken, more breath than voice—but it wasthere.

Mystic froze. His eyes locked onto mine, shock flickering across his face.

“She didn’t do it!” I rasped, my throat burning, lungs fighting to keep up.God, it hurt.But I couldn’t stop now.

I pushed against Brenda’s grip, trying to stand. Mystic was there in an instant, kneeling in front of me, his hands wrapping around mine. Steady. Grounding.

“Zeynep—”

“I need to see Spinner,” I whispered, my breath hitching, panic tightening in my chest. “He needs to know. She didn’t do this. She wouldn’t.”

Mystic’s grip tightened. The shock in his eyes shifted into something deeper—protective, unshakable. “Zeynep, you need to slow down. Your voice—”