I’m done watching, done trying to stay away.
Reina will pay, and she’ll do it my way. She’ll do it while hanging off the edge of a rooftop, bound and tied and begging for help that won’t come.
“Her grave will be next to yours and mine, Ari.”
My sister was my purpose in life. The day she died, I died with her.
The thing that rose from the ashes was a demon thirsty for blood.
Reina’s blood.
The moment Alexander steps into the cemetery, I take my leave.
He gives me the stink eye and I’m tempted to fight him, but I’d never do that in front of Ari’s grave.
I wonder if his assistant reminded him that today is the anniversary of his daughter’s death. I wonder if he’s only doing this for the appearance of it or if he actually remembers just how much Ari loved him despite his uselessness.
The drive home is similar to riding straight back to hell. Blackwood’s buildings extend as far as the eye can see—all majestic, and so fucking empty like the people inside them.
In this town, people like Ari never fit in. The quiet nerds, the shy people who don’t dress for fashion or socialize—those are the outcasts, the ones no one cares about or notices the absence of.
In this godforsaken town, people like Reina and me rule—popular and beautiful and fucking monstrous.
We were born to be at the top of the food chain while Ari was always destined to be at the very bottom where anyone could step on her.
Three years ago, I left and never looked back. The hypocrisy and…something else suffocated me. I had to stay the fuck away from Blackwood.
Until I didn’t.
Until I returned like I’d never left.
It’s funny how three years can seem too long and yet too short at the same time.
On the surface, nothing’s changed. Blackwood is still filled with hollow souls and faceless people. Deep down, it’s almost unrecognizable.
I park in front of the house and stride toward the entrance. No idea what the fuck I’m doing here. This is the last place I want to be on Ari’s death anniversary.
This is where she first met Reina, and I smiled when they became friends.
Like a fucking idiot.
I loosen my tie; the thing restricts my breathing. My movements pause when the door to the pool house opens. Jason comes out first and hops over the step then offers his hand with a smile.
Pale soft fingers latch onto his, and my grip on the tie turns deadly.
I know who it is before she steps outside. Those fingers. That fucking hand.
All the pent-up energy that’s been plaguing me since the morning translates into a red mist that covers my eyes and strangles my breathing. The need to cut off his hand and feed it to the dogs overwhelms me.
How fucking dare he touch what’s mine?
How dare she fucking let him?
My murderous gaze flits from her to him. My demons whisper at me to go over, punch Jason in the goddamn face, and take back what’s mine.
Reina is mine. Fucking mine.
And I’ll screw the world so she’ll remain that way.