rld. The driver kept glancing in the rearview mirror, his eyes narrowing e

d only

d this door and rolled out onto the highway three miles back. She h

her palms. The sharp sting

omed ahead, a sprawling beast of dark stone and gothic arches. It looked less l

e driver didn't mov

hed the door open, the cool

dn't bow. They nudged each other, whispering,

ly came?" o

mechanical whir. Low, consistent, approa

breath

the darkness. Ca

cal device. A heavy wool blanket covered his legs. His face was pale, the

s, filled with a mixture of exhau

r to recoil. He was waiting for the look of dis

e had mourned for mere moments before her own death. But this man... he was alive. The tyrant she had once fled was now the hero she had failed. The guilt was a physica

up the st

in front of Caesar. His hand rested casually,

erik warned. "St

ocked eyes with Caesar. She stoppe

suffocating. The maids held their

a desperate anchor in a sea of emotion, a simple, mundane

lipping for a fraction of a second. Be

chair. His knuckles turned the color of bone. He

a rasp, like stones grinding together. It was the voice

Athena lied, her gaze unfli

. But she was here, standing in his door

her scrubbed-clean face, the white dress that made he

r in,"

his boss, confused,

the manor was ten degrees colder than outsi

without a word. The maids dispersed, ignoring the bag. It was a te

hauled the heavy case across the marble floor. The wh

sar stopped. He turn

mething raw-pain, perhaps, or longing-crossed his face. But it vani

rs closed, swall