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Any day now, my father will die.

The man I idolized when I was young. Strong and powerful enough that I once wanted nothing more than to grow up to be just like him.

Then I did grow up, and everyone else decided that was exactly what I should do. He became the blueprint for a life I didn't want and a standard I wasn't convinced I could meet.

I give Liam a short nod.

An honest one.

Then I leave, thinking only of the girl who pulled me back from the edge. The girl who now belongs to my future.

On my phone, I pull up the tracker in the medallion she holds, watching as it moves closer to the Bolton house. When I come to collect her debt, there will be no mistake that she’s mine.

CHAPTER 10

ZAIYA

Calista slips into my room the next morning and leaves the door barely cracked behind her. She crosses to the dresser, fastening pearl earrings that look elegant against her baby pink dress. One that actually covers her chest and thighs.

“So what happened last night?” she asks in a lowered voice, adjusting the necklace at her throat. “You were completely out of it on the way home.”

I sit at the edge of the bed in one of my new dresses. White cotton scattered with tiny stitched daisies. The sleeves cover my shoulders, the skirt falls to my knees, and I look more like myself again. The self I’m used to, at least.

Edwin still won’t leave my mind. Not after he touched me and uttered his commitment in my ear.

I pick at one of the flowers near my knee. “You were right. The medallion was a… sex thing.”

I can barely mouth the words.

Her eyes widen. She drops onto the bed beside me so quickly that the mattress bounces. “I knew it. Tell me everything.”

My stomach knots.

Talking about anything sexual is still forbidden in my mind, even after witnessing Ophidia. My whole life, that subject was nailed shut. Every curious thought I ever had was taught to fold itself small and disappear before anyone could see it. Mother said intimacy only led to trouble. My parents were supposed to decide who I belonged to in that way.

Heat creeps up my neck.

“I didn’t go through with it.”

Confusion twists her expression, almost insulted for me. “Nothing happened? Not even a kiss?”

I shake my head.

My stomach stirs unpleasantly at the idea of my mouth near the man who attacked me. I can’t tell her the truth. That the man she saw me with will never touch anyone again. That Edwin killed him like it was nothing. No hesitation. All because of me.

The bedroom door shifts.

Evelyn peeks through the opening and taps lightly against the wood.

“Are you two having girl talk without me?” She steps inside, smiling. “Is this about boys?”

I glance helplessly at Calista, hoping she’ll save me before this turns into something I can’t navigate. I still don’t know what to do with a mother who leans in with interest instead of criticism. Being looked at as though my life matters is too unfamiliar.

“Zaiya was telling me about a guy she turned down at a party once,” Calista says smoothly, lifting her brows at me so I’ll follow her lead.

I shrug, trying to shrink into myself. “It wasn’t a big deal. I just wasn’t interested.”

“You made the right choice,” Evelyn says. “Boys are eager to push girls into being physical when they’ve offered nothing meaningful in return.”