“If it’s worth anything… I trust you to get me and Diana out of that hellhole. Otherwise, I wouldn’t even be suggesting this.”
Her words hit me right through my chest.
I try to ignore the sound of goodbye buried inside her tone. Try to make sense of it. Is she trying totellme something?
What the hell is she planning?
I don’t answer. I just follow her silently to the car, open the back door, and gesture with a tilt of my chin.
She climbs in. I close the door behind her, making sure she’s all set in, and then a hand rests on my shoulder.
My father.
“Ivan’s still in New York. But we’ve got no eyes on Fedor. No one's heard from him since that day—and I don’t like it. I think they’re playing us.”
I glance at him. His face gives nothing away. As always.
But mine? Mine doesn’t show weakness either, because at this point, I don’t think I have any.
“I don’t care what game they’re playing,” I say, voice low. “Roran’s staying. And I’m getting the merfolk out of the Red Dock.”
His eyes flick wide—just for a second—then return to that unreadable calm.
“You figured it out?”
I nod.
“Still piecing together how they got them there and where. Especially the Sur-El princess—she wasn’t even from our ocean. But I won’t let them get away with it. And I hope you won’t try to stop me when the time comes.”
He studies me.
I don’t blink. I don’t breathe, not when he’s testing me.
Then, finally, he nods.
“You’ve got my back. If you start a war… we’ll make damn sure we finish it.”
That’s all I needed to hear.
Roran
Malec brought too many of his men with us. I’m not sure if it’s because he doesn’t trust me and my plan, or because he has bigger plans of his own.
But as long as we get what we came for, I guess he’ll follow through.
He keeps staring at me through the rearview mirror from the passenger seat, and my pulse spikes every time I accidentally meet those gem-like eyes.
It’s the middle of the night, and I’m grateful—for whatever reason—that he just went for it without stalling. We didn’t waste time.
The night lights blur past like brushstrokes as Pedro presses the gas, overtaking cars like they’re invisible and the road belongs to his family. But then again, my family’s no better when it comes to the law. I just rest my head against the window, fighting the urge to cover my face with my hands because I canfeelhis laser focus on it.
I wish I could understand what he’s thinking. I can’t predict his next move.
Hell, I can’t even recognize my own anymore.
Old Roran would never have dared say a word out of line in front of her father—let alone talk to his enemy and hand them a path to ruin him.
Who is this girl and where did she come from? God only knows.
