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“Get dressed,” she announced. “We’re going to an event.”

That, more than anything, told me she and Kane were not getting along. Weeks would pass without her reaching out to me, and then suddenly she’d call, and we would find ourselves drunk in a bar, and me in a stranger’s arms. I found that it was better to drown in waves of pleasure than to surface to your demons waiting on the shore. And I knew I’d be extending a hand to a demon tonight.

“Where?” I asked, glancing at the clock. It was seven on a Friday evening.

“Cassandra Valentine’s house.”

“The socialite that owns all of those paranormal items?” I asked.

“Yes,” she breathed impatiently.

“You don’t want to attend with your fiancé?”

“I don’t want to go alone.”

“You’re not alone,” I said.

There was a pause.

“I don’t have anyone else,” she admitted. “Not really.”

Daisy, like myself and Kane, were alone in this world. And the man she loved—a man who I knew well enough—was only providing her with detachment and cruelty. Somewhere along the way, I had allowed myself to be her landing pad.

“Fine. What am I wearing?”

“It’s black tie.”

“What am I walking into?” I groaned.

“Something better than wallowing in darkness. One day all of this will be forgotten and we’ll be buried six feet under with dirt in our faces and nothing but infinite silence⁠—”

“I’ll be ready in thirty.” I cut her off because that was the most insightful thing she’d ever said to me.

Valentine Residence

That drizzly night, I was welcomed by a pair of deep blue eyes. It was him. I hadn’t spoken to him in three years. Warm light had spilled from the townhouse behind him, gilding his silhouette while the night pressed cold at my back. His gaze traced along the dark velvet of my dress, to the column of my throat, lingering far too long on the redness of my lips. The years had not softened the steel in his stature. If anything, it had honed his sharp features. He was achingly handsome. Transformed into something I wished I could have had the pleasure of witnessing.

“You’re here,” he said at last, his voice low. My breath caught as his eyes clashed with mine, a thousand questions lingering between us.

“Daisy invited me.” An emotion flickered across his expression but it vanished before I could put a name on it. He stepped aside allowing me to enter. His hand brushed the small of my back. The touch enveloped me in the fleeting years that had passed, the moments we had spent together and all the ones we’d missed. Regret was abound that night.

A woman slipped effortlessly into Kieran’s space, her arm threading through his with ease. She gave me a glance and openly assessed me from head to toe.

“Daisy’s been looking for you,” she said lightly to Kieran.

It was Cassandra Valentine.

“We can find her.” Kane locked his gaze onto mine, a sizzling perusal of ice and headiness. I moved through the house near them, trailing half a step behind, acutely aware of her hands curled around his bicep. Kane’s eyes returned to me repeatedly. I believed he was making sure that I was real and he hadn’t imagined me.

We found Daisy in a sitting room, curled into the arms of another man laughing softly as his mouth pressed against hers, her fingers tangled in his jacket. The moment dug out every expectation I had for the night.

I quickly glanced at Kane who had stopped short, breath held.

“Sara!” Daisy’s attention shifted from the man to me then bounded over in excitement. My eyes bounced from hers to Kane’s, who stood at the side, still with Cassandra clung to his arm.

“What is going on?” I whispered to her. She had been far from lonely. If anyone was alone here, it was me.

“What do you mean?” she asked. I flicked my eyes over to the man who had stood, waiting expectantly. Before she could give me an answer, gentle hands enclosed her elbow.