Page 1 of Tempest’s Torment

prologue

LILAH

Drayton Creek, Connecticut

Three Years Ago

"You've checked your phone four times since we left the restaurant," I say softly.

Lucy drops it into her bag as her cheeks flush with heat. "I haven't."

I raise a brow as I glance at her and then back to the road. "Lucy."

I hear her heavy sigh, and I hate it. "He just wanted to know I got home safe. That's not a crime."

I keep my eyes on the road. We’ve had this argument enough times that I know where every turn leads, and none of them go anywhere good. I've never pushed too hard against it, but sometimes I wish I would.

"He texted you twelve times in the past forty minutes," I say. "We were at dinner."

I glance at her and see that she’s biting her bottom lip. "He worries."

I grip the steering wheel tighter. "I know he does." What I really want to say is he’s too controlling, always wanting to know where she is and what she’s doing. He’s gotten worse the longer they’ve been together. I’ve never been a fan of Evan’s; there’s just something off about him that I’ve not been able to put my finger on, and he’s extremely controlling, which he masks as worry. With our mom dying two years ago and our dad leaving when we were too young to remember, it’s only our aunt that we have left and she’s not really interested in anything we do, I feel as though Evan targeted Lucy because she only has me, and I hate that he thinks that she’s vulnerable.

She shifts in her seat, turning toward the window. "Don't," she says quietly.

I grit my teeth. She’s my twin, and I hate upsetting her, but this has gone on for so long already, and I can see the toll it’s taking on her. "I didn't say anything."

"You didn't have to."

We drive in silence for a while, both of us using the quiet to calm down, we do this a lot. We hate arguing with one another, and we never set out to hurt each other, so when we’re on the brink of doing so, we pull it back and recenter.

We leave the town limits and hit the stretch of road that cuts through the woods between Drayton Creek and her apartment. We used to walk this road as kids, back when we thought the dark was the scariest thing out here.

"He's been better," Lucy says. "The last few weeks, he's actually been trying. We broke up, and he’s trying."

"Okay," I say quietly, unsure how to respond.

I hear her twist in her seat. "I mean it, Lilah."

I nod. "I know you mean it."

She makes a frustrated sound in the back of her throat. "Can you just say what you want to say? Stop doing the thing where you agree with me when you clearly don't."

"I don't trust him." The words I’ve wanted to say for a while now tumble out, only holding back so as not to hurt Lucy. "I've never trusted him and that hasn't changed."

"Because you've never given him a chance."

"Lucy—"

"I'm not doing this tonight." Her voice goes hard. "It's our birthday. Can we just not?"

I exhale hard. This is what always happens. The conversation gets too much for her, and she shuts down. "Yeah, sorry."

Another silence, but it’s easier this time. That's the thing about twins. We can be furious at each other and still be fine. No matter what, we will always find our way back.

"The tiramisu was good," she offers.

I smile, despite the lingering anger about Evan. "It was incredible."