The whisper in my head is sharp… but something is different this time. It’s familiar. The voice… It’smine.
I thought Visha kept finding ways to slither inside my head during my weakest moments, but it’s been me all along. I’m the malicious voice inside my head. And as cruel as the words are… they feel true.
I’ve been the one ruining everything.
Some council members have at least the decency to look away, but others don’t bother to hide their disgust.
The lump in my throat becomes harder to ignore when I find Harvey and Hazel sitting at the table, silent. Not a single word in my defense.
Harvey shoves his chair back, striding toward me. For a heartbeat, I think he’s coming to stand beside me… but he brushes past me, leaving the room without a backward glance.
When tears start streaming down Grace’s cheeks, I don’t know who I’m hurting for more.
He’ll come back, right? He has to. Harvey will never leave me like this.
Hazel’s eyes meet mine for a second before she drops her gaze to the papers in front of her.
What did I do that’s so terrible that half the people I call family want me gone?
I’m trying to find a reason, something to make sense of all of this, but nothing comes to mind. I’ve been loyal. I’ve protected them. I’ve chosen their safety over mine time and time again.
Why am I still not enough?
“Why?” My voice is a whisper, meant only for the man who’s supposed to love me till his dying breath.
“I need to protect my people. This isn’t our fight, and I’m done putting everyone in danger foryou.”
I thought I was his people, too.
‘He lied. I told you not to trust anyone.’
Each word from him is a stab to the heart, piercing me deeper with every disdain-filled look he throws my way.
My eyes burn, but I nod anyway, swallowing the truth along with the pain.
He’s right. It’s his responsibility to keep everyone safe. This was never their fight, and I did put them in danger. But he’s known that from the beginning, so why ask me to leave now?
Movement to my side draws my attention just in time to catch the elder demon smirking to himself. The moment my eyes land on him, his thrill morphs into fake pity, but he’s not fooling anyone.
August slips from my arms to stand by the suitcases, clutching his stuffed dinosaur to his chest.
My world stops spinning when I finally notice it.Twosuitcases.
As if he can hear my thoughts, Angel says, “August will be leaving with you. He’s your responsibility, after all.”
My head snaps toward him in disbelief. I wait for him to take it back. To tell me this is some twisted joke, that the bags are a part of an elaborate prank, but Angel doesn’t even blink, let alone look at me.
If the hurt on my face makes him uncomfortable, he doesn’t show it. Instead, his gaze slides back to the damn wall behind me, like I’m not worth his attention.
I shouldn’t have trusted him.
When I look at my little boy, staring at his feet like he knows what’s coming, I hate myself for dragging him into this mess. If they want me gone,fine, but I can’t risk him falling back into Visha’s clutches.
I straighten, matching his blank stare with my own. “I request that you let August stay.”
“Request denied. Now, get out.” His hiss feels like venom to my heart, and the dismissal on his face is so foreign that it makes me take a step back.
Where did my Angel go?
