ivate clinic hummed with a sound

heel as my temperature hit 104 degrees. My vision had blurred on the highway,

to die, and too insi

y life in clear, saline drops. No one sat in the chair beside my bed. No flowers on

ody felt like lead. Gritting my teeth, I pushed myself up,

e wounded foot soldiers of the underworld. Then, I hea

le bird. Just

as tender, a soft baritone I hadn

o the water cooler. But I was a masochist for the tru

a tiny bandage on her finger-a paper cut, perhaps. Luca sat on the edge of the b

de of spun glass-precious, fragile

himpered, turning her

strand of hair from her face. "I'm here. I'm not going

rned white. He had left me burning with fever to watc

eyes darting toward the door as if sh

he's tough. She has no right to mind that I prioritize

was silent, but it felt like

y legs shaking, and

optive brother. Th

h a sneer, taking in my

his voice low and dangerou

, leaning against the wall for

"You're jealous. You can't stand that Sofia is the real princes

id, though the word tas

a's life for eleven years. You lived in her room. You wore her clothes. You spent th

gaining a fraction of strength. "I launde

ok up. "You were a placeholder, Elena. We kept you because it looked bad to

eath smelling of stale tob

ghtful place. She loves him, and he clearly prefers her. Stop cling

it was in the casual way he delivered them, as if my

nd shuffled back to my room, the wheels of

the cold bed and s

s a placeholder. But he was wrong abo

lett