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“Nope. Not my first time.”
Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked at me.
“I was here a couple months ago. Got away…but my demon came for me.”
“I…I’m so sorry.”
“Yeah, pretty shitty.”
Her eyes fell, like she’d just lost all hope.
“I’m sorry too. You don’t deserve to be here. Nobody does.”
“I just got here a couple weeks ago…”
“Who’s your demon?”
“Amon.”
Fuck.
“Yours?”
“Forneus.”
“I think I’ve seen him before…he’s the one with the smile.”
“Yep, that’s my man.”
She released a chuckle—a very painful one. “I just had dinner. There are some leftovers on my tray if you’re hungry.”
I shook my head. “I’m good. Not much of an appetite.” I bet Benton was making Claire’s favorite tonight—mac and cheese. She’d probably asked about me, tried to understand what happened earlier that evening, and I had no idea how Benton would answer. “I think I’m going to get some sleep.”
“Alright, goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Rayna.” I changed into my white linen pajamas, looked at the golden harp by my bedside, and then got under the sheets. The door between our rooms was closed, and then the moonlight came through the windows. I stared at the ceiling, the cabin cold and my body heat not enough to keep me warm. I wasn’t used to being alone. I was used to having a man at my side, his powerful arms around my body, his quiet breaths my lullaby.
I felt a couple tears fall from my eyes to my ears, but I didn’t wipe them away.
Just let them fall.
When I left my cabin the next morning, I came face-to-face with someone I hadn’t seen in a long time.
Rebecca.
“You’re still here?” I walked past her, my bare feet on the cold stones over the grass since they’d taken my shoes again.
“I need to speak with you for a moment.”
I whirled around. “Still not an angel, huh? They didn’t promote you when I was gone?”
Her face drained of color.
“Consider yourself lucky. Unless you’re a Victoria’s Secret angel, it’s not worth it.” I moved forward without looking back, and this time, she didn’t follow me. I went up the hill toward the church, moving through the sea of Malevolent that watched my progression. “Long time no see, huh?” I approached the graveyard and noticed there were more graves than before. Three more.
Selfishly, I hoped it was no one I knew.
I entered the church and noticed that the windows were still covered with the paper I’d taped to the surface in another lifetime. A few angels were there, all dressed in their ridiculous gowns and heavy wings. Some of them looked at me, women I didn’t recognize, but there was one woman I knew.
Laura.
She slowly got to her feet in sheer disbelief. “Constance…”
“I’m back, bitches.” I raised my arms in mock celebration. “Couldn’t stay away, you know.” I walked up to her and embraced her with a strong hug. “How are you holding up?”
She pulled away, still in shock. “Let’s skip the small talk, alright? What the hell are you doing here? We thought you escaped.”
“I did.” I took a seat and crossed my legs. “But I was never really free. I was still imprisoned, just in a different place. Forneus was always around, always looking for a way to take me back.”
“You didn’t go to the police?”
I told her that hadn’t gone anywhere and that there was no real way to ever be free.
“Then how did you stay out for so long?”
“Claire’s father, Benton.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“He protected me…for a while. But then Forneus took Claire, and he didn’t have a choice but to make the exchange.”
Even though she’d been trapped this entire time, she still managed to have some pity for me. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m happy that Claire is free. I’m happy that this will officially be behind her. She can live a normal life now. I always knew I was on borrowed time. I was always running from him, even when I was still. He was creeping up behind me, getting closer and closer. It was more like a vacation…a very short vacation.”
“What’s your plan now?”
“Plan?” I asked.
“You want to do the boats again? Spring is coming, so the snow will melt. The rivers will be full, and we won’t freeze to death.”
I shook my head.
“Then what’s your idea?”
“I don’t have one.”
Her eyes shifted back and forth.
“You were right, Laura. There’s no way out of this place. Just gotta make the best of it…”
I stopped for a moment to look at the moon.
It was full, luminescent, powerful.
All my surroundings shook as if there was an earthquake. Trees swayed left and right. The ground trembled beneath my feet. The starry sky spun in a circle, and the only thing that remained was the moon.
My heart raced harder than it ever had before. My brain thudded with a migraine. But I kept myself calm…at least I tried. The moon was my north star. The moon was real—but everything else wasn’t.
