Page 104

I felt a smile trying to work its way to the surface, only to be met with a tightness in my chest. I pressed my eyes shut again and shook my head.

I just have to see him one more time tonight, then I’ll disappear forever.

My eyes snapped open, quickly turning to a quick glimpse of shadows. Layne materialized from his inky darkness as it swirled around me before settling. His golden eyes cut through the dark murk, focused and militant, as if we were going to battle, and I supposed we were.

Settling his hands on my waist, he whispered in my ear. “Having second thoughts, my queen?”

The water rippled around me in response as his warmth wrapped around my body, and my jaw tightened, but only for a moment.

“Never,” I huffed.

Layne circled me slowly, a trail of shadows swaying in the water behind him as he studied my face. “You look…scared. Why, darling?”

I thought about lying, but knew it was pointless, because he was right. Our connection was strong—if not stronger now than ever. If I was feeling something, Layne knew it, and he could feel it just as deeply as I did.

“Yeah…I’m scared,” I admitted, turning to face him, resting my hands on his waist. “But not of Preston. It’s…Ethan, being back there with him… I⁠—”

Layne’s thumb brushed my lips. “Shh…it’s okay. I understand. It’s a lot to go through.” He pulled me tighter to his chest. “I can feel your pain, Evelyn Graymore. You don’t have to hold it alone.”

Layne raised his hand, glowing with a golden light, shrouded in shadows. “I wish I could take that pain from you…” The power undulating from his palm dissipated in a shower of golden sparks. “But even my magic has its limits.”

Resting my head against his chest, I said, “I’m scared I’ll ruin everything…” The unnatural melody of his heart quickened against my ear.

Layne pulled me away from his chest, regarding me intently. Brushing the hair from my face, his thumb traced along my cheekbone. “Evelyn, you are a queen. My queen. And you’re going to march onto that yacht and get the revenge you deserve.”

Layne pressed his lips to mine as he whispered against my mouth. “You owe it to yourself. To your father. Remember that fire in you? The fire that would have burned the whole world down that night you fell into my prison? You can, and you will do this, Evelyn Graymore. I believe in you…I always have.”

Layne was right. No amount of nerves could erase the memory of the pain Preston had caused me. The way the salt water had burned my lungs. The emptiness I felt from losing everyone I had ever loved and cared about.

No, nerves were not something that a dead girl—a monster—would ever need to concern herself with.

Tonight, that mother-fucker dies.

My eyes glowed an icy blue as I stared back into Layne’s golden gaze.

“You’re right. Tonight, I’m going to take back everything that bastard stole from me,” I said, sliding my hands up his chest, the hard muscle pressing back against my palms.

God, he felt so strong, so warm and alive. It was almost intoxicating, the pull I had towards him. Not something I would’ve admitted when we first met.

“Layne…”

“Yes?” he said, caressing my cheekbone.

“I wanted to tell you…” I paused, biting my lip. The water around me slowly rippled, and I felt my face begin to burn. “I–I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for helping me.”

Layne’s expression shifted, as if I had caught him off guard with my words. “Evelyn⁠—”

“I mean it, though.” I held his gaze, brushing my hand across his sculpted jawline. “I’m sorry that you’ve been stuck here alone for so long.” I brought my lips to his neck and pressed them to his soft skin, trailing slowly up to his ear.

Layne’s eyes fluttered closed as he gave a breathy sigh, pulling me into him. He tilted my chin towards him. “Well, I’m not alone anymore, now am I?”

“No,” I whispered, shaking my head. “And you won’t have to be ever again.”

My lips met his, slow and deep, and for a moment, all my worry disappeared.

Trust hadn’t come easily with Layne, and rightfully so. It had taken me a long time to see beneath the darkness that was Layne Murrows, but now I knew that he was on my side, more critical now than it had ever been, especially tonight.

We finally pulled ourselves apart, and I hadn't even noticed the tiny whirlpools dancing around us from the heat of it all.