AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Making it ours.”
When I finished, I stepped back, the letters QRMA written on the wall. Gabby smiled and stared at the first letters of hers, our parents, and my names.
“I think Mom and Dad would like it here too. Especially given the seasons.”
“And the celebration you like so much,” I teased.
She laughed, going back to the wall with her brush. “Yes, that too. We should decorate this year. If you are around.”
“I’ll be around. I want to spend time with you before you go to university.”
She was quiet for a moment. “But only If Kaden allows it.”
I huffed. “Well, if Kaden says no, I’ll just sneak away. You know I am good at escaping.” I winked, trying to make her smile once more. She was not a fan of my current terms, but we were here, alive and whole. That was all that mattered to me.
“I guess.”
“Hey, you know I’d do anything for you.” I stepped closer, forcing her to look at me. This time, her smile didn’t reach her eyes.
“I know. Now get back to work because I am not finishing this by myself, slacker,” she said, trying to swat me with her brush.
I snorted and rolled my eyes. “Pathetic attempt, Gabs. You gotta do better.”
She stuck her tongue out at me, and I grinned. “We need more paint. Wait here.” In the kitchen, I grabbed several cans from the stack. She had overbought again. I laughed and headed back to the living room. “Did you really think we needed twenty of these, Gabs?” A small hum came from behind me, and I paused, my grip tightening on the can I held. I slowly turned. The front door rattled, the knob vibrated, and a red light shone from around the edges. It flooded underneath the door, the tendrils slithering toward me, illuminating the room.
I dropped the can of paint, the lid popping off and skidding across the floor. I backed up as the light grew and the door shook.
“Beware the blood-red moon.”
“What?” I spun to face a dull, fractured version of my sister. She stared back at me, a faded shadow of her former self. Her pale, lifeless eyes looked through me. A thick band of bruises formed on her neck, and the sound of that horrible crack flooded my ears once more.
She looked at me again, her skin gray and sickly. My chest heaved as she stepped forward. The house shook, a crack forming on the ceiling, and debris raining around her. She lurched forward and grabbed my shoulders.
I opened my eyes and sat up. Gabby’s voice echoed in my ears, but she no longer haunted me. Sunlight drifted through the open curtains, revealing the high-end hotel suite.
A warm body nestled against my naked side, reminding me why I was here. I sat up and stretched. The arm around me fell to the floor with a soft thud, no longer attached to the guy who had taken me back to his lovely room. I turned to look at the mess on the bed.
Webster Malone was one of Kaden’s lackeys. Now he was an arms dealer with no arms. Webster wasn’t terrible to look at, handsome until I had gotten ahold of him. He had blonde hair, his green eyes staring off to some far-away place. Just like hers had.
I wanted to cry, to scream, to do something, but nothing came. I felt it in those rare moments when I would sleep. The pain would clench my chest, the force of it raging up my throat, but then it would just stop. I hadn’t cried or shed a single tear since the accident. I felt numb. Maybe I was broken.
A shimmering emerald green light manifested in the room.
“You are being careless.”
I half turned, seeing the hollow image of Camilla standing near the bed. She glanced at the wreckage and body parts all over the room. All of them had aligned themselves with Malone. That had been a mistake.
“I don’t care.”
I threw the sheet to the side and stood. Camilla’s eyes darted away, and she sighed. “You should. Leaving a trail when you want us to stay off the grid will only make Samkiel find you faster.”
I wiped the side of my face with the back of my hand. “I know. That’s why I am leaving him a little present this time.”
I staggered, passing through the hollow image she projected.
“Is this retaliation for the worldwide curfew?”
I smiled wickedly. “Maybe.”
