Then the buzzing begins again.
“He’s going to kill me,” she mutters hopelessly.
I roll my eyes and reach out. I see his name, feel the ache, pause for a second, then answer.
“Why aren’t you replying? Is something wrong? Julien’s restraining Sai because he’s adamant something—”
“It’s me.”
Kacey stops breathing, I’m pretty sure Ezekial does too.
The thought of making such a powerful being, a Lord, lose his words, is incredibly pleasing.
Do I wait for him to respond? Or do I punish him further?
“Kacey is here, she’s fine. We were just having a little… chat,” I summarise, giving her a quick smirk. Her eyes are so wide as she slams a hand over her chest. “She’s told me about the secret phone call, the texts. I’d like them to stop.”
Kacey scrunches her eyes shut, her concern bubbling as I wait for him to say something. Anything. Justspeak, for Goddesses’ sake.
“Why is Sai being restrained?” There. A question. Something hehasto answer.
“I—Because…”
Is… is Ezekial stuttering? This powerful lord who rules the district? My heart races a little.
“I wasn’t expecting to hear from you.”
“I can tell,” I quip back, giving nothing more.
I wanthimto fill the silence.
“Sai thought something was wrong. We knew you were in pain and when Kacey didn’t respond, he thought the worst.”
He did it, he answered, and the urge to call him a good boy is dangerously high up on my list of next words.
“Ah. He thought the worst. And what exactly is ‘the worst’?” I ask, but then give him no time to respond. “Because I was under the impression that being lied to and manipulated by all of you was pretty much the worst.”
Kacey’s eyes snap open, and she’s staring straight at me, looking like she’s about to go into cardiac arrest. Then she suddenly scrambles up from her knees, rushing towards me with an outstretched hand, silently demanding her phone.
But I’m already stood, swiftly avoiding her, heading into the kitchen with my cold cup of tea.
I’m enjoying this too much, listening to this powerful lord stumble over his words, to give it up so soon.
“Sometimes, when beings of the dark are in pain, you enter the realm unconsciously and it can be… very difficult to escape—without help,” Ezekial finally answers, each of his words carefully selected.
“So Sai was coming to help me?”
I can picture Ezekial wetting his lower lip as he contemplates what to say, knowing I’m playing with him but accepting that I can.
“Yes,” he finally says.
Before I can begin my tirade about how ironic and ridiculous that answer is, it seems Ezekial predicts it.
“I know we don’t deserve your forgiveness, Jasmine.” I hate how my body reacts when he says my name, a wave of warmth rushing over me. I lean against the kitchen counter. “But we’d like to try. No more lies, no more omission, we won’t hide anything from you.”
I scoff. “Even Kane?”
“Especiallymy brother.”
