ORE

ay estate ever had. The bed was covered in a soft, handmade quilt, and the shelves

e, no trace of the serious boy from my ch

he said gently, smoothing the quilt. "Closing a big de

with Alcide had become strained and awkward in the year before I left. I wasn't r

just needed to rest. She hugged me o

e room a comforting blanket. My phone vibrated

ach tig

t too comfortable. A worthless creature without a shred

who it was from. The petty, v

o, they would have devastated me. They would h

e just words. The buzz

nything at all. I simply blocked the number and delet

IDE

Kong boardroom, not seeing the glittering skyline below. I was listening to a

ily had the number for, lay on the po

ypted message

's

keting director's voice faded into noth

entire executive team jump. The marketing direc

dn't see the hurricane that had just been unleashed inside me. They could

r," I said, my voice

of the room, pulling my other phone from

xt week," I commanded, my voi

e other end. "But the mer

e suite and stared at my reflection in the dark window. A ma

," I said, more to

lusive alchemist, one of the few beings in the world who knew anything about the rare toxin I suspected was s

ears, helpless, respecting her decision

er Battle. Something had happened.

a beast with sharp claws. It tore at the c

red my assistant. "I want t

ists, my knuckles turning white. The

t felt like

et back to