Celine grabs my arm and tows me into the kitchen. Under the faint hum of the fluorescent lights, she studies me, her frown growing by the second. “How?” she asks.
Before I can come up with an answer, she yanks on my shirt. The two buttons I left fastened come loose, ricocheting off her cabinets with muted pings. My shirt falls to the tile forgotten, then all I can feel are Celine’s fingers caressing me.
“How?” she repeats. She sounds dazed. I can’t blame her. I also can’t tell her the truth.
I drag in a shaky breath. “I can’t tell you.”
“Bullshit,” Luca argues.
I reach for his face, hoping to reassure him, but he bats my hand away and shoves the hair hanging in my eyes behind my ear. “You’re fine,” he says. “I can see that, but how long were you in the sun?”
“Hours,” I admit. A lump bobs in my throat.
“Did you buy a spell?”
I shake my head.
“How long will it last?” Celine’s voice is tight, choked with emotion.
I shrug. “Forever, I hope.”
The last part is hard to admit. Hope makes me vulnerable. But I want to tell them everything. How the blood dripped from Sheena’s nose to the floor. The pain, my disbelief, how her men and Ciprian shared their magic to give her to power to lift the sun curse.
“This has something to do with your meeting last night,” Luca guesses. “The one you asked to have in the storage room with Ciprian. We never saw you leave.” Because the fae’s glamours are incredibly powerful.
My silence was a part of the wish. If they guess the truth, will I be cursed again for breaking my word? I stiffen. Maybe coming here was a bad idea.
“Stop asking him questions,” Celine says. “His heart is racing.” Her palm rests warm and heavy against my chest, and I realize too late that she isn’t examining me anymore and has transitioned to monitoring my vitals instead.
“Okay.” Luca releases a ragged sigh. “Fuck, as long as you’re okay. You scared me to death, Ali.”
Something in me snaps.
I pull them both into me, one on each side, and slump in their arms. The exhaustion of my sleepless night hits me as the elation fades, leaving me with nothing but the soul-crushing weight of relief.
A tear rolls down my cheek. Another chases after it. And before I can put a stop to it, a sob escapes.Gods, this is humiliating.I’m supposed to be strong. Powerful. The one you go to when you’re out of options. I can’t cry in front of them. They’ll be disgusted.
Luca’s hand moves to my hair, and he guides my head to the crease between his neck and shoulder. “You’re safe, Ali,” he murmurs in his rough baritone. “Let it out.”
As if my body were waiting for permission, I fall apart. My shoulders shake, fat tears rolling down my cheeks to be soaked up by Luca’s shirt.
Celine’s arms tighten around my waist, and her wings graze my back as she wraps them around all three of us. They’re soft and fluffy now, but if someone tries to hurt us, they would turn to knives in a flash.
With blinding clarity, I realize the truth I’ve ignored: I’m not curious about Celine and Luca or obsessed with collecting them—I just need them. Fighting by my side in every battle life throws at us and celebrating every win.
And I almost destroyed it.
Even after the horrible things I’ve said and done, Celine and Luca care enough to make sure I’m safe—safe enough to let my guard down.
Suddenly, I see the future clearly: everything we could be if I stopped getting in my own way. And it’s as beautiful as the bloody sun.
TWENTY-NINE
Unsent correspondence, translated to English, and addressed only to My Truth:
I have judged thousands, but you are the only one I kneel to.
MALACH
