Page 137

“Never know. The Serpents get their hands in everything around here.”

I shake my head. There’s no way Edwin was behind it.

Was there?

The thought lingers, taking too much shape.

Calista shrugs. “I’m just saying, don’t believe everything he says. No Serpent can be trusted.” She leans in to wrap her arms around me. “I’m here for you if you need anything.”

I rest my head on her shoulder. As much as I’ve felt like a burden to her since I arrived, there is a special bond between us. Two girls wanting the same thing from our mothers.

Freedom.

After she leaves, I curl onto my side with my cheek against the cool pillow. The faint trace of Edwin’s scent lingers there and pulls me backwards into last night. His body on top of mine. The urgency in the way he touched me, like he needed me more than he wanted to admit.

I want to believe he would protect me. But I’ve learned what I am to men like him. An investment. An asset guarded carefully until it pays out.

My phone rests beside me, its screen dark. I’ve stared at it for hours, drafting and deleting messages that never sound right. The entire day passed without a word from him.

If he knows as much as he claims, why didn’t he stop it? What happened to that connection he spoke of with such certainty?

Cool metal fills my palm as I pull out the medallion. It’s an invisible thread leading Edwin right to me. If he had bothered to check, he would have known I was running.

His medallion falls out of my hand into the nightstand drawer, and I slam it shut. So what if the contract says to keep it on me at all times? What’s he going to do, not force me to take part in the Trials?

There are only two contacts in my phone.

My thumbs hesitate, then I let my anger type for me.

ME: Asher’s killer came after me today. I thought you were going to catch him.

The phone buzzes almost instantly with an incoming call.

The glow of his name on the screen makes breathing too hard for someone lying still. That was all I needed. Proof that I could reach him and that he cared enough to call.

And it leaves me wanting more.

I tap accept.

“What do you mean he came after you? Are you okay?”

I’m taken aback by the intensity in his voice.

“Answer me.” Impatience cuts through his worry.

“He was waiting for me near the house.” My voice wavers, but I steady it. “He followed me through the tunnels. I got out and Frank took me to the police.”

“Did he touch you?” he asks, emphasizing every word.

The tremor beneath his control unravels me. It’s the first time I’ve heard anything resembling fear in his voice.

“Just my ankle.”

His breath goes rough in my ear.

“Fuck, I should have been there. I’m sorry, Zaiya. The fucking meetings.” He sighs. “I thought you were at the house.”

“I’m fine. It’s not your job to watch over me.”