Total pages in book: 168
Estimated words: 160578 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 803(@200wpm)___ 642(@250wpm)___ 535(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 160578 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 803(@200wpm)___ 642(@250wpm)___ 535(@300wpm)
“What are you doing in there, Lulu?” His tone was distant, but I let him pull me to my feet after wiping my eyes clean. I hadn’t realized I’d fallen to the ground. What the hell was that…
The grip he has on my arm stops my attempt to step backward. I’ve not heard of boys like Vaden and Priest. I know them.
Well.
“I got lost,” I whisper, searching the mysterious tint of his eyes. Both are different shades, yet…the same.
He chuckles, but it does nothing to calm me. At least not the way he used to. “You and I both know that you can’t keep falling down the hole.”
I shove my arm out of his grip, turning to the door that lets me out of this hell. I didn’t want to come to this party tonight, but I did. Damn River.
Vaden doesn’t bother stopping me, and when I’m out of the bedroom and back down the hallway, I slow my way back to the stairs. There have to be hundreds of pictures hanging now, all framed by dark elegance and elaborately carved frames.
A girl standing alone, staring back at a blank canvas.
A cathedral made of candy.
A blank white page filled with nothing. Strangely comforting.
Warmth spreads over my chest the further I walk, taking in each piece with a careful eye. I don’t know what they mean, but whoever did them is talented. Why didn’t Priest use this person to paint the damn pictures during his murder-fest instead of me?
I hold the railing as I continue down the staircase, the music now a subtle pulse of Korn. It’s like the mellowing end of a party where everyone is passed out, or in this case, maybe dead. I need to find River and leave. I shouldn’t be here.
My phone vibrates in the palm of my hand, but I ignore it, pushing through people to find River. It’s useless. I’m not going to find her. When my phone vibrates again, I answer the call without checking to see who it is.
Nature breathes life back into my lungs as I press the phone to my ear. “Hello?”
“Checking in on you?”
I hold my tongue on what I want to say. You threw me to the wolves, knowing they’re famished. “Good. I’m fine.”
“Luna.”
I lower myself onto the front steps, checking over my shoulder that no one is listening. Riverside has ears everywhere.
“It’s been testing.”
Silence.
Warming my hands by running them up and down my thighs, the contour of my holsters jar each movement. “You knew that was a possibility. It’s going to get worse.”
I cross my arm around my belly, tightening my sweater to stop the shivers. “I know.”
“Good. You know nothing is ever easy for us.”
I do. I know that better than most people assume I do.
“I know.”
“Are you free?”
“Am I?” I reply, not bothering to hide the sarcasm.
“You are now. A car will be there soon.” The line goes dead. I stare back at it, ignoring the generic home page Apple installs on every phone.
“Leaving so soon?”
My stomach dips, causing my finger to pause over the screen. He's close. Enough to feel the brush of his words at the nape of my neck. Too close. Too much too soon.
“Parties aren’t my scene.”
Panic crawls down my spine. Priest never attacks when your back is turned. He likes to breathe in your last breath and watch as the life drains from your eyes so the last thing you see is him.
Combat boots come into my peripheral when he steps down, subsiding some of my fear. When I lift my head, I’m reminded of everything he is. The hatred, torment, and pain. The way I’ve only ever seen him smile once, showcasing the two dimples on either cheek. It was at the exact moment when he thought I was about to die.
He lowers to the spot below me, resting against the railing. “That hasn’t changed then.”
“It won’t.” Like a firestorm through a forest, he leaves his destruction behind everything he touches. “What about you?”
“What about me?” It’s harder to breathe when he looks at me this way. “What, Madness?” he repeats with his mouth in a flat line.
“Are you the same?” I roll my eyes. “Locking me away in your bedroom aside.”
Heavy silence weighs us both down. He won’t answer.
His eyes shift from me and out to the front, in time for headlights to illuminate features so sharp there’s no mistaking they’d been carved by the demons he hides. “Always.”
I push up from the steps when the car rounds the concrete fountain, brushing off the dirt from my butt. Reaching for the door handle, I turn to look over my shoulder, catching Priest glaring into the driver’s seat.
“Tell the girls I got a ride.” My poor attempt at trying to interrupt his gawking fails.
“To where?” He has a lockjaw with what he wants, and right now, he wants to know who’s driving this car.