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“For now, Zaiya, your strength is in your purity. They can’t stain your soul if you protect your body.”

The words echo through me. My mother’s voice blends into hers. I hear the lock turning on my bedroom door after one stupid kiss. I feel the room closing in on me all over again.

My breath stalls, and I don’t realize how still I am until Evelyn squeezes my hand.

“That isn’t about controlling you,” she says softly, as if she senses I’ve gone somewhere far away. “It’s about controlling them. If a man wants your body, he’ll wait. He has to earn you first.”

My mind goes straight to Edwin. As if anything about him could ever resemble waiting.

“What if he won’t wait?”

A knowing smile touches her mouth. “You make him.”

I almost laugh at how impossible that sounds.

“It’s always your choice, Zaiya. You just have to believe it.”

I can’t imagine controlling Edwin. Not with the way he smirks, the intensity in his eyes, the sheer ease of his strength. Or the way he grips my throat while my body aches for him.

A shiver slips through me, and I quickly suppress it.

She caps the polish and lifts my hand to inspect her work.

“All finished.”

I look over my new nails. They could be daggers. Not something I would have chosen for myself, but the color looks good against my skin.

“Maybe I should wear red more often.”

“Red carries the weight of command.”

She picks up a lipstick tube and raises it to my mouth. My lips part automatically, my body obeying before thought can catch up. She applies it carefully, then sits back with satisfaction.

“This only enhances what’s already there,” she says. “You have more strength than you realize, Zaiya. Don’t ever forget that.”

I stare at my reflection. It’s still me, only louder. A girl who might actually be noticed in a crowded room.

“Wow…” Frank’s voice comes from the doorway. He’s staring at me, almost in disbelief. “You look stunning, Zaiya. And you’re learning from the best.”

He goes to Evelyn and presses a kiss to the top of her head. She glows with the attention.

“Thank you,” I say shyly.

“We need to get going,” he tells Evelyn. “Ethel Brinkley’s expecting us.”

Evelyn glances at the clock. “We have time.”

He steps behind her, his hands settling on her shoulders. “We have a few things to pick up first.”

Her face slips into a distant stare before the pleasant smile returns, smooth as glass.

“You’re right.”

As she passes me, her hand brushes lightly against my arm. “Remember what I told you.”

I nod and give her the calm expression she seems to want from me.

Then she follows Frank out of the room, leaving me alone with my reflection and the strange girl staring back from inside it.