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As far as the Order is concerned, I belong to Edwin. And there’s no hiding from that.

CHAPTER 19

ZAIYA

The swing creaks beneath me, its chains warm in my hands as I drag my shoes through the dirt to keep myself moving. Back and forth. Back and forth. The one beside me hangs empty.

At the top of the slide, Calista laughs as Wayne wraps his arms around her, pressing kisses to her cheek until she squirms. They tumble down together in a breathless mess of limbs.

She actually looks happy. Apparently she doesn’t feel the need to hide her affection out here. As long as her parents aren’t nearby, I suppose.

Watching them awakens a loneliness too strong to suppress. But I already chose my path, and it leaves no space for sweetness.

I scratch at the red polish on my nails, chipping it away with the constant onslaught of memories from last night.

My body hasn’t forgotten the way Edwin touched me without asking. How I didn’t want to stop him.

“I seriously can’t wait to get back to Chicago,” Calista says, brushing dirt off her shorts. “This playground is depressing.”

Wayne pouts dramatically, lowering his chin to look up at her through his tousled brown curls. “I don’t want you to go.”

She gives him a peck on the lips. “You’re coming with me, babe. You need to get out of here just as bad as I do.”

He blows air through his puffed-up cheeks. “Never pictured myself leaving Shadow Bluff.”

She huffs a laugh. “You actually thought you’d just live here forever, waiting tables at the diner?”

“People don’t leave unless they have a really good reason.” He shrugs. “My family’s been here for four generations.”

She loops her arms around his neck, pulling herself up on her tiptoes to kiss him. His trepidation seems to dissolve on the spot.

“I’m your really good reason.”

He smiles at her like she’s the only girl in the world. And then they devolve into yet another make-out session.

I lower my gaze to the line in the dirt my shoes are making.

My mother’s warnings creep back into my mind, smug and satisfied. One taste and you’ll spend your whole life craving more. Now that I’ve had that taste, I already feel it dragging me deeper.

My eyes drift up to the tower looming over the town. From the outside, it looks quiet. Empty, even. But I know better now. Something under that place has started coiling around me.

A fancy black car rolls to a stop beside the curb.

The energy of the playground shifts. Parents pause their conversations and look over. Even the children quiet instinctively.

I don’t need to look to know it’s him. But he draws my attention anyway.

Edwin steps out with effortless ownership of the space around him. A long black coat covers him down to his boots. Round sunglasses hide his eyes. Every movement is controlled as he cuts across the grass like a dark cloud passing over the sun.

He doesn’t acknowledge anyone.

Only me.

Heat climbs into my cheeks. He’s seen every inch of me. Touched me in ways no one else ever has. That knowledge sits under my flushed skin, too visible. A change people might sense the moment they see me.

I lift a hand to hide my burning face.

Calista straightens and hurries to my side. Wayne reaches for her wrist, but she pulls away, stepping closer to me instead.