“Where did Lex go?” I ask.
“Her sister called.”
Ah. Tegan.
The reminder makes it easier to sit back in the couch and relax among my friends.
“Did you hear?” Callan chimes in, practically bouncing on his seat in happiness. “Tegan’s agreed to attend Oakwood again now that Dyers has fucked off to darken Scotland’s door instead of ours.”
I shutter my eyes while the chatter goes on, Denny sharing tidbits of her stay in Madrid, Callan talking about his dog and how he’s given the wee beastie his own bedroom as an apology for moving into this apartment building, Zach and Shay bitching about the Stars’ performance...
We’re an unlikely group of friends, congregating only because of a shared enemy, but I hope, I truly hope that now that Dyers’s been dealt with, this isn’t the end for us.
My life is crazier than ever. Tonight, it’s hockey with friends I hope to get to know better and bedtime with my husband… Tomorrow, there’s the first meeting of the new year called by the Veronians, and the day after that, I’m being initiated into Pi Beta Epsilon—the sorority has deeper ties to the Veronians than Wynter and I realized.
But for all that I’m dreading the next week, I’ll take it, just because ofthismoment.
A smile graces my lips as I doze off.
Of course, just as soon as I relax for the first time in weeks, the Stars score for the second time.
My eyes pop open at the celebratory racket.
And I come face-to-face with Alaric in the stands.
Mouth trembling, I grab my phone and take a picture.
Me: Do you know this man?
It pisses me off that my hands are shaking, but I can’t stop them.
I only realize I was holding my breath when the ticks turn blue and Maxim starts typing.
Maxim: Yes, I know him. Who is he to you?
Me: Alaric
Me: Who is he?!
Maxim: Commissioner of the NYPD.
Maxim: His name’s Kingston.
Me: Not him! I know who the commissioner of the NYPD is, Maxim. The guy next to him!
*A minute later*
Maxim: His name’s Alexander Delaney. He's a four-star general
Maxim: Are you sure that's Alaric, korovka?
Me: I’ll remember that face in my nightmares, Maxim.
Of everything that happened, it was him smiling as he dipped his thumb in Dyers's blood and pressed it to my forehead that has stayed with me since that night.
Maxim: I’ll be there in a half hour.
Maxim: Go home
