I had asked him to come, but he was busy. He was a god. I tried to believe it. But another thought slipped in like a knife beneath my ribs, soft and poisonous.
Maybe he didn’t want to be seen with me.
It came from nowhere, yet the moment it landed in my mind, it rooted itself deep. Heavy. Suffocating. I couldn’t shake it loose.
The room tilted, the whispers pressing in around me.
“Move,” I demanded. “Abram would never leave me here unless something was wrong. I swear on the moon.”
A gasp rippled through the coven, sharp enough to sting. Swearing on the moon was forbidden. Sacred. Lizzie sighed as if I had inconvenienced her with my fear.
“Fine, you have one hour. Not a second more.”
“I’ll be back.”
I bolted for the door, skirts brushing through the cold air of the hall. My pulse thundered in my ears as I clutched the small amulet of magic Abram had given me. It pulsed, responding to my frantic plea, and pulled me toward him.
When I landed in our home, the silence greeted me like a slap.
“Abe?” My voice cracked. “Where are you?”
Nothing. No footsteps. No breath. No magic humming in the walls. Just stillness. Empty and echoing.
Panic rose up my throat, clawing at me, refusing to let go. Something was wrong. Something terrible. My chest tightened until breathing felt impossible.Maybe Della knew where he was.
I grabbed the amulet again. Star mist swirled up around me, cocooning me in bright, shimmering light.
When it vanished, I was standing outside Della’s house in the woods.
Not her house.
The woods.
Why? Why would it drop me here?
I stepped forward, but froze. Laughter drifted through the trees. Warm. Familiar. His laughter.
Abram.
My heart punched against my ribs as I moved quietly toward the sound. I slipped beside the small shed, pressing my back against the wood, and peered around the corner.
A long table stretched out beneath strings of lanterns, white linens glowing under their soft light. Fancy dishes. Fresh bread. Steaming platters. A beautiful spread of comfort and celebration.
Family dinner.
Ezra, Della, Haden, Cassius, Thea—they were all there, laughing, talking, relaxed. A picture of belonging. But all of that collapsed from my mind the second I saw Abram.
He was sitting there. Eating. Laughing. Perfectly at ease.
And beside him… her.
A beautiful woman with dark hair and piercing blue eyes. Skin like snow. A dress that made her eyes even brighter.
My stomach dropped. Hurt and betrayal flooded through every vein as he sat there carefree, laughing while I had been terrified he was injured or dead.
She tossed her head back in a laugh and wrapped her hand around his arm.
He didn’t push her hand away. A sharp ache lodged itself in my chest. Why did she get to do this with him? Every laugh, every touch, every casual smile twisted like a knife.
