My blood ran cold. Thisdemon had the audacity to accuse Pandora of lying after she beat the hell out of her with her little friends?
If Grimshaw, Hemlock, and Shadowheart hadn’t found her and brought her to Sunstone Revive to heal, I didn’t want to think about what could’ve happened.
Darkmore growled so loudly the hall rumbled under our feet, and his tail flicked back and forth. “You don’t even know why she’s moving out. What exactly is she lying about, Dreadful?”
Her blue eyes widened, and her bottom lip wobbled. “Um, I—well…” She turned toward Pandora.
“It’s still black,” Pandora mumbled against Darkmore’s chest, and my brows furrowed. “My ring. It’s black, which means you still want to hurt me, Dreadful.”
“Hurt you?” She forced a giggle that sounded like nails on a chalkboard. “Oh,Pandora, that was our, um, initiation, if you will…so you can officially be part of our group! We all went through it, and now we’re totally on a first-name basis!”
“Don’t call her by her first name,” Darkmore and I snarled at the same time, but I stepped up and glowered down at her. My tail whipped around me angrily. “You call her Gravesend with respect.”
She held her hands up and backpedaled away from me. “Right, of course.”
“We’re not friends, Dreadful,” Pandora rasped. “Don’t put on a show. You’re a terrible actor.”
Dreadful gasped in surprise, genuine surprise, like she had thought she could actually smooth over what she had done.
“Don’t think you’re not going to get punished. You attempted an assassination on Death’s daughter,” Darkmore growled the words, his vengeance magic snapping outward and blasting into her.
Dreadful propelled through the air and back into her room, crumpling on the ground with the same bruises and cuts that she had inflicted on Pandora. She let out a bloodcurdling scream, and tears streaked down her face.
“Must be nice to be able to scream like that when it hurts,” Pandora murmured softly like she didn’t expect anyone to hear, but Darkmore and I did.
What had that meant, exactly? Did it have something to do with the softness of her voice?
We turned and headed down to the room just next to mine and Hemlock’s, a proximity that both comforted and unnerved me since Hemlockwas there too.
As we entered the room, the movers had already finished with everything.
Shades of gray, black, and ivory enveloped the entire room. Her four-poster bed draped in rich black velvet curtains stood as the centerpiece. Antique candlesticks set atop a sleek gray desk to the right side of her room, casting flickering shadows against the walls. On the left were floating black shelves with a collection of books, and there was a black rising stand on the end table. Her closet was on the left, next to the books, and it was filled with her clothes.
It looked calming, and I knew I would sleep better knowing she was right next door, alone and safe—away from Dreadful.
The air thrummed with tension and unspoken words as Darkmore and I were left alone with her.
“Thank you, both of you,” she murmured, her voice laced with fatigue as she pulled Nebula out of her bloodstained bag and went over to set him on the black stand next to her bed. “I feel much better already having my own room.”
Darkmore and I exchanged a look, and I knew we were thinking the same thing.
“We can stay,” I offered, the words clumsy in my mouth.
“We don’t mind,” Darkmore agreed, and his demon form slowly receded. I felt my tail and horns sink back in at the calm atmosphere.
She caressed Nebula’s skull softly and shook her head. “I think I need to be alone. Tonight was too much. It reminded me too much of—” Her words caught in her throat as if painful. She pulled out an enchanted water bottle and took a sip before placing it on her nightstand as well.
Of what, dream girl? What could tonight have possibly reminded you of?
“We understand,” Darkmore interjected. “If you need me, call me or text me. Reed’s right next door. Just call, text, or go over there. Okay?”
She flicked her gaze to me and nodded. “Okay. Thanks, guys.”
We left, the door closing with a soft click behind us, and almost immediately, her sobs wretched from the other side.
My heart lurched, and both Darkmore and I placed our palms on the rough stone door. The anguish was clear in both of us as he glanced at me.
“Darkmore, are you sure we should leave her alone?” I croaked, a turmoil of raw agony tumbling through me at her sobs.
