Verum (The Nocte Trilogy 2)

Our skin is hot,

Our mouths are needy.

We are alone.

But for the godforsaken angels.

The angels scare me,” I whisper to Dare, and I clutch him close.

He holds me tight.

“I know,” he says. “Why is that?”

“I don’t know,” I answer, and it’s the truth. “Maybe it’s their eyes. They see me.”

“I see you,” he reminds me, and his eyes are black.

Black, black,

Black as night.

“Will you always?” I murmur, and his neck tastes like salt. My fingers find his LIVE FREE.

“Yes,” he promises.

“Repromissionem,” I tell him. “It’s Latin.”

“I know.”

Chapter 28

The kitchens are surprisingly bright and I pick at my bagel, perched on a stool as Sabine cooks.

“Aren’t there cooks here?” I ask curiously, because I’ve never been in here before.

“Of course, child,” she answers without turning around. “But I brew my own tea.”

The pot she’s stirring is large, and I eye it doubtfully.

“That’s a big pot for tea, Sabine.”

She laughs, then studies me.

“I want to read your cards again,” she announces. When I’m instantly resistant, she adds. “One last time.”

One last time?

Ok.

I follow her to her room, and she spreads my cards in a circle.

“Ah,” she breathes, drawing a card. “The Knight of Pentacles.” She looks up at me. It means something is finally coming to fruition. It’s almost time, child.”

“What’s almost time?”

She draws another card without answering.

She turns it around.