It was a vow of identity. A vow that would alter the shape of every day that followed.
“And if I agree?”
“Then,” Donovan said smoothly, “your broken deal is forgiven. You remain by my son’s side without consequence. And I will consider your inheritance secured, not jeopardized due to poor decision-making on your part.”
My pulse roared, rattling every inch of me.
Kreed.
The life I wanted with him.
My parents’ legacy.
My place.
I straightened, my fingers touching the ring on my finger, the one piece of jewelry I had from my father. I never took it off. I had no idea what it meant at the time he’d given it to me on my sixteenth birthday. I’d thought it a pretty trinket, the snake coiled into a white gold ring. I twisted the piece until the head of the snake and tail met around so it was on the inside of my finger, hidden. A viper.
Donovan had never paid any attention to it. He might want to swear me in as a Raven, but in my heart and soul, I was a Viper.
“So tell me, Miss Steele,” Donovan murmured, smoke curling around him like a dark crown. “Do we have a deal? Do you swear your loyalty to the Ravens?”
The finality in the question pulsed through me like a drumbeat. Fear. Resolve. Defiance.
Love.
All of it fused into something unshakable.
I lifted my chin. “Yes,” I said, voice firm. “I swear my loyalty to the Ravens.”
Donovan smiled, a slow, satisfied thing that made the back of my neck prickle. “Welcome to the family.”
EPILOGUE
KAYLOR
GRADUATION DAY
The sun hit the football field at that perfect late-May angle, warm enough to feel like freedom and bright enough to sting my eyes. Rows of folding chairs stretched across the turf, filled with fidgeting seniors in caps and gowns. The whole place buzzed with energy, with excitement too big for our bodies to hold.
This was it.
Graduation day.
I hadn’t expected it to feel so…heavy. Like the past four years were pressing one final hand to my shoulder, asking if I was ready to let go. This last year had been the hardest of my life, and it was impossible to believe I was here, that I was leaving behind my adolescence and moving into my adulthood. I only wished my parents could be here to see me.
Donovan might be in attendance, but he wasn’t here for me, not in the way I needed. His presence was a constant dark cloud over my head.
Beside me, Poppy nudged me with her elbow, her deep berrylipstick flawless despite the humidity. “Last chance to run. I’m sure you’ve got some escape plan tucked up your sleeve.”
I huffed a laugh. “Pretty sure my escape plan is already sitting in the bleachers staring holes into the back of my head.”
Her gaze slid past me, toward where Kreed sat two rows behind us with Nash, caps tipped back, tassels tangled, all Corvo intensity even in a graduation gown. Kreed met my eyes the second I turned. Of course, he did. My pulse fluttered.
Poppy sighed. “Are you guys ever going to get past the honeymoon phase? It’s troublesome.”
“You love it,” I muttered. Besides, I’d accepted I liked all forms of Kreed Corvo trouble.
“Unfortunately.”
