Page 48

You’re really pretty and I just…wanted to say hello.

My scales prickled, and I whipped my tail, cutting through the still water. I needed to get a grip and remember that I was a weapon now, floating at the bottom of the ocean, not someone with a crush.

I tried to force my mind back to what mattered most, but still couldn’t understand how there had been no darkness inside of Ethan.

There was no doubting what I had felt. I was new to this, sure, but my magic had never been wrong before about that sort of thing.

Of course, unless my assumption was correct and Layne was omitting something from me, which wouldn't surprise me at all. I’d grown to understand him more than I would have liked to admit, and that is exactly the kind of thing Layne Murrows would do.

As if summoned by my thoughts, the water around me rippled as swirling masses of darkness slowly began encroaching around me. A heaviness pressed in from all sides, and I could sense his presence, stronger now than the last.

I pressed my eyes shut, as if I could will him away.

“I know you’re here, Layne,” I spat.

A maelstrom of darkness swirled above me, spiraling down before crashing into the sea floor beside my tail. It gradually formed into my unwanted patron, who didn't seem to be going anywhere. His golden eyes emerged first, glowing like embers deep inside a smoldering fire. The rest of him materialized as the shadows surrounding him dissipated. His naked body, carved with muscle and bathed in shadows, glistened in the water.

My gaze traced the dark veins that marred his body like rivers on a map, winding between the deep scars that carved through his flesh like valleys. Layne's body was a landscape of a violent history that I would probably never know. Despite my complete and total frustration with him, there was so much I was curious about.

Did he always look that muscular? I thought, eyes lingering on his abs.

My face flushed, and I turned my gaze away.

Layne’s voice rippled through the water like silk. “Ah, my beautiful little siren. You’ve had quite the evening, haven't you?”

Glowering, I said, “I did exactly what you told me to do last time—keep hunting, get stronger.” I paused, turning back to him. “Your words, remember?”

Layne laughed. “Oh, the adulterous one you fed on?” He flicked his hand, conjuring a shadowy orb of magic that he twirled in his hand. Slowly, it transformed into a large bubble, pulsing with a golden light, shadows swirling from it. Inside the sphere, I saw the man I’d fed on earlier, small and suspended.

He’s got all kinds of tricks, doesn't he, I thought. Now what else are you hiding?

My face remained neutral, unwilling to show him that he’d surprised me with that one. “Cool party trick,” I said. “And what about him? Just another heart to feed on. He certainly deserved it.”

Layne circled me like a shark, the conjuration of magic still in his hand. “Oh yes, I’m sure his darkness was lovely. But that’s not who I’m talking about, and we both know it.” He paused, his eyes blazing back at me. “Before him…you met someone else.”

Of course, he knows. He seems to know fucking everything!

My chest tightened, and I found myself trying to think of an excuse. How would he know about Ethan? And why did I even care if he did?

“I meet a lot of people when I go hunting,” I said, rolling my eyes. “That’s kind of the point. Maybe if you broadened your social circle beyond just me, you’d understand how conversations work.”

Layne’s eyes flickered for a moment, an expression I hadn't quite seen from him yet…sadness? Surely the mighty Layne Murrows doesn’t get his feelings hurt that easily.

His smug face swiftly returned, marked by that devious grin I had grown accustomed to seeing. Whatever nerve I’d hit, as small as it was, I let myself revel in it.

“Don’t be coy, Evelyn. It’s not becoming of you.” He chuckled quietly to himself before flexing his hand. The sphere of magic shifted from the drowned man from earlier to none other than the shy, smiling face of Ethan Ward. Layne studied it quietly, playing with the shadows that emitted from the orb. “A boy with no darkness…how curious, no?”

Gritting my teeth, I shrugged, acting unbothered. I had no idea how he knew about Ethan, or the fact that I hadn’t seen any darkness within him. “How…how did you know about that?” I whirled around toward him. “Are you fucking watching me?” I spat.

Layne's eyes gleamed deviously. A predatory grin spread across his face. “Darling, I made you.” He paused and drifted towards me, caressing his hand across my cheek. “We are connected, and I can sense every heart of darkness you consume. Within that darkness, I see echoes of what you see. Pieces of your memories, just as you do with theirs.”

My eyes widened, face burning hot beneath the touch of his hand.

“Not everything, of course…what an invasion of privacy that would be.” He laughed, amusing only himself.

So he doesn't see everything. But still, he can see glimpses of my memories…what the fuck?

I pulled away, repulsed by his entitlement. I glared back at him as he tilted his head and studied me with curiosity.