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Me
Well obviously. But at least you’ve got Hana, right? Go get up to some serious shit with her, please. For me.
Annika
Lol, deal. I’ll try and pry her away from the gang.
I frown.
Me
Gang?
Annika
I just mean the Mori family. Kenzo, Tak, Mal.
It hits me like a punch in the stomach.
Mal’s on his way to freakingKyoto.
He left to go to the other side of the fucking planet and didn’t say a thing. Didn’t even hint that he was leaving. Now he’s just…gone.
I stare at the text, my thoughts spiraling as the reality of his departure sinks in. He’s gone. Just like that. Without a word, without a goodbye?—
Oh fuck off, self.
I should bepleased. If he’s gone, it means the sick arrangement we had is over, or, at least, on pause. I should feel freer, lighter, knowing that Mal’s possessive grip on me has been loosened.
Instead, I feel hollow.
Used.
Like he shattered my world and then disappeared, leaving me to pick up the pieces on my own.
I toss my phone aside, staring out the window into the darkness. I wrap my arms around myself, feeling the cold emptiness settle deeper into my bones.
Mal is gone. I should be relieved.
So why the fuck aren’t I?
21
FREYA
I stare out the window,my breath stuck in my throat, my pulse skipping like a record scratch. Annika’s words still echo in my ears, sharp and jarring in the hollow quiet of the room.
We got Kenzo back. Ulkan Gacaferi is dead. It’s over.
The air I exhale feels thick and heavy, like I’m purging poison from my lungs. A chain that’s been wrapped around my neck for weeks feels like it’s loosening, falling away. The tension that’s had me by the throat, the fear and anxiety I’ve carried like an anchor—it’s all disappearing.
For the first time in what feels like forever, I can breathe again.
I stare into the middle distance, my mind blank and full at the same time, trying to process it all.
Ulkan is dead.
I want to scream with relief, but I can’t even find the energy to move. It’s over—finally over.
