Page 27

Marin

Gavin removed his mask, letting the black satin covering hang loosely in his grip. When I removed mine, his green eyes gleamed in the candlelight, filled with an intensity that should have sent me back a step.

But I held my ground.

He looked different, but it wasn’t his features that had changed; it was the severity of them. Everything about him was rougher, from the dark stubble covering his jaw to the hard line of his mouth where his roguish smile used to live.

This man looked like he never smiled.

Minutes ago, those lips had grazed my knuckles, warm and reverent.

I couldn’t settle the difference in my mind.

Which one was real? Which one was the trap?

And why did I wish I was still caught in his snare?

His tender moment before the claws snapped shut had been so enthralling.

No wonder so many others had fallen for it.

Gavin’s hair was a touch too long, unruly as always, with raven strands brushing against his cheekbones. He was broader than before, and I noticed for the first time that his jacket barely fit.

I was a fox facing a lion.

But foxes were sly, and they never came out of their holes unarmed.

Slipping my hand into the slit of my gown, I unsheathed the dagger at my thigh. The glint of steel caught his eye, and those hard lips curled.

So he does still smile. If you prefer the wicked, calculating kind.

“What are you going to do with that?” he asked, dry amusement layering his tone. “Stab me and toss me into the bushes? I’m told that’s how it works at parties like this.”

“I’m surprised you haven’t already met a similar fate. How did you find me?”

“I got your note. The dagger in the wall was a nice touch. But you stole it from Cass, which made you easy enough to track down.” His tone dropped, humor twisting into a pained rasp. “I thought you were dead. Three years. You can’t imagine—”

“Imagine? I don’t imagine anything.” My hand tightened around the dagger's hilt. “I know what you did. How dare you?”

Gavin clenched his jaw. The only visible reaction. His restrained silence made me want to lash out and inflict the same wounds carved across my heart.

“You spoke to Cass, didn’t you? What did she tell you? I hope she gave you all the gory details.” I slid my free hand up to curl at the base of my neck, digging in until breathing felt like pulling lead through my throat.

“Did she tell you what it feels like to drown? That the water burns your throat. That even when you’re clawing your way to the surface, every spasming inhale sinks you deeper.

Your chest is so tight it might crack.” I trailed the edge of my blade slowly down the front of his black jacket.

“Maybe you know about the dark. How it eats away at your soul. Or the chains that rub your skin raw. The screams in the mines. The blood.”

Gavin gripped my shoulders, his eyes wild. “Damn it, Mare. Don’t—”

“Don’t what? Don’t imagine?

“No.” His forehead dropped against mine, even as I held the dagger between us, the blade angled at his chest. He exhaled a choked sound.

“Don’t hurt. ”

I snarled and shoved him away. He staggered until his back hit the wall. It was the most space between us since I’d taken his hand on the dance floor, and it might as well have been the entire ocean.

“I didn’t betray you,” he said softly.

I would have preferred he’d screamed it.

Rage I could match, but his quiet conviction was like drowning again. Only this time, his hand was outstretched. If I took it, would he pull me free or push me back under?

“I don’t believe you.”

“I know. I don’t expect you to believe me. Not yet.”

Bone-deep exhaustion swamped me like a wave. “What do you want from me, Gavin?”

“Another dance lesson,” he said with a twist of his lips.

“Ah, see, there’s the man who used to tease me. Who thinks everything is a joke. Why didn’t you tell Atticus what I did? You could've called me out right there on the dance floor.”

“I’ve always enjoyed watching you work. I’ve missed it.”

His bold remark made me snap. I released the air trapped in my lungs and charged forward, meeting him at the wall with my dagger pressed to his collarbone. He didn’t even flinch.

“You missed it? You took everything from me!” Hot tears scalded my cheeks. My hand shook, and I squeezed the hilt to keep it steady. But nothing could stop my voice from cracking. “I am nothing. ”

“That’s not true!” Gavin shifted, the move forcing my blade harder against his skin. If he moved again, it would draw blood. “You’re Marin Nichols. You’re the strongest, most resilient woman I’ve ever met. No one can take that from you.”

“Compliments? From a liar?” I blinked back the tears, hardening my voice. “You’re three years too late to be charming. Stay away from me, Gavin.”

“I can’t do that,” he said with more of that quiet conviction. “I didn’t betray you. And I’m going to find a way to prove it.”

“You’ve always been reckless, but I’ve never known you to have a death wish.”

“What can I say? You just bring it out in me.” A familiar smile curved his lips. The kind I’d seen hundreds of times. But now it looked out of place, framed by the harsh edges of the man he'd become.

The old Gavin still lived.

It wasn’t fair that I couldn’t say the same.

Matching his smile with a colder version, I hooked my blade under the collar of his shirt and pushed aside the fabric. My gaze traveled down his neck and into the deep V of exposed skin. My blood iced over when my suspicions were confirmed.

“You really did sell me out. You’re not even wearing your compass. I’ve never seen you go a day without it.” I let out a mocking laugh. “Or maybe it became a stark reminder of what you did to me.”

Gavin’s fingers flexed like he wanted to rip the blade from my hands. A muscle ticked in his jaw as he restrained himself.

“Marin— ”

“Save it.” I turned my back on him and sheathed the blade. “I’ve wasted enough time tonight. I never want to see you again.”

For a half-second, I thought he’d reach for me. Try again. The moment before he removed his mask, when his touch had been intimate and searching, flooded my mind.

How had that shifted so quickly from heaven to hell?

I wanted that Gavin. Or at least, I wanted what that moment could have been if things were different. If it wasn’t all lies. Or worse, his guilt for getting caught.

But with the masks off, I couldn’t stop the cold reality from sinking in.

I pushed through the vines and stalked into the night, my steps slowing just long enough for my ruined heart to confirm he wasn’t going to follow. When he didn’t, I threw one last demand over my shoulder.

“And get out of my house!”