Page 24 of Third Offense

Novak seemed to feel similarly as his shrewd gaze evaluated the Noir around us. He didn’t appear as confident now that we’d been introduced to Ketos’s style of fighting.

I felt similarly.

Because who knew what sort ofmentaltalents these assholes had hidden beneath their bulky exterior.

“And here we are again,” her mother said, speaking to Layla. “There are several dresses and other items in your closet. They’re based on my size, which I think is similar enough to yours. But we’ll see to your wardrobe this week so you can pick your own items. However, for dinner, you should be able to find something suitable.”

Her gaze turned to me and then to Novak.

“I’ll need to ask Iston to deliver some options for you both. And I’m guessing you won’t be interested in borrowing anything from Ketos.” She sounded amused again.

Novak grunted.

And I opted to translate for him by saying, “That guess is correct.”

Layla squeezed my hand again, this time in warning.

What?I thought, meeting her gaze.I was perfectly polite.

Her gaze narrowed.

But her mother interrupted us by saying, “Dinner will be served in four hours. Don’t hesitate to let us know if you need anything.”

She pushed through the double doors into what appeared to be a suite of rooms.

“I’ll let you give them the grand tour, Layla. Don’t forget to show them how the windows work.” She started to leave, then stopped. “Oh. And there’s an antidote in the bathroom that removes the elixir. Just in case you can’t fully break it.”

Her eyes went to Novak and his metallic wings. He’d forced them free of the spell while mine remained hidden. Something her eyes seemed to speak volumes about as she looked at me and pursed her lips.

This backward perspective on wing color was… unsettling.

But it put a lot into perspective on how Layla must have felt initially.

Which made me feel like an ass for the way I’d responded to her change and how I’d treated her.

I’d need to apologize.

Again.

CHAPTERSEVEN

RAVEN

This place is too bright,I decided, spinning around the large suite and suspiciously eyeing all the open windows. It gave me reformatory vibes, in the sense that nothing was real. Like that picturesque view would turn to poison if I tried to walk through it.

Yet Iston and Netiri had both left through the balcony, diving off into the air and splaying their all-black wings. Sorin and Zian had observed them with interest, then shared a look and started talking about how to break the elixir’s spell.

I half-listened, more interested in our surroundings and the sense of wrongness pulling at my gut.

There is something very wrong with this place. I couldn’t define it. Nor could I determine what gave me that impression.

The floors were a pristine white and silver marble that led to a carpeted bedroom with a bed built for five or more to enjoy.

There was a bar larger than any cell I’d stayed in with a bunch of gadgets I understood in concept but had never seen before in real-life. Beside it was a dining room with a table meant for eight guests that opened into a living area—where Sorin and Zian stood now—that led to the double doors of the massive bedroom.

I padded across the marble to the carpet and peeked inside again to gape at the master bathroom. The tile shower could accommodate at least four sets of wings, plus it had five moveable heads. And the bathtub beside it was bigger than the mattress the three of us had shared at the reformatory.

I swallowed, my stomach churning with bile.