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Before we reach the dais, we’re intercepted. “I wanted to take the time to introduce myself and extend my congratulations to you all officially,” Senator Baker declares, a smarmy smile that only a crooked politician could possess in place.
“Thank you, Senator,” Samantha replies. The annoyed look etched on her face is hard to miss.
“Why, you’re welcome.” He looks from her to us, his eyes tight, barely concealing his frustration.
Trouble in sibling paradise?
Picking up on the air around us, Sebastian says, “Yes, we’re very lucky to have Samantha to ourselves for the rest of our lives. Wes says she’s wild when the claws come out.”
I watch Samantha’s and Senator Bakers’s faces twist into identical scowls. It’s hilarious that anyone can’t see that these two are related.
Clearing his throat, Matthew tries to mask his fury, but it’s too late. “Well, I wish you all the best in all the years you have left together.” Then he waves and walks off over to fucking Jameson.
I can feel the veins protrude from my neck. His days on this earth are dwindling. I hope the arrogant Judas enjoys what time he has left.
As we ascend the stairs to the stage, my eyes connect with another dead person walking, Brittany. She looks smug, the stupid lemming—such blind loyalty for someone who wouldn’t spit on you if you were on fire.
“Good evening,” my father speaks into the mic, quieting the room. “Thank you all for being here. Tonight marks the beginning of a momentous celebration period for our town. The heirs have finally found their Chosen.”
Senator Baker steps to the front, giddy with excitement for what he believes he’s won. But, for our sake, I hope he fails.
My father continues to outline what’s to come, distracting the room long enough for a woman I’ve never seen before to slip into the room and sidle up next to Jameson. She’s wearing a sleek black bodycon dress with a slit nearly to her hip that accentuates the curves of her body. Her obsidian hair falls past her shoulders in blanketed waves. I watch as Jameson lowers his head, and she whispers something in his ears that has him flushing red. Crystal blue eyes that almost appear white lock on mine before she quirks her blood-red lips and winks then pulls our teacher inconspicuously from the ballroom.
“Samantha Davenport.”
My head snaps back toward the podium at the collective gasps from around the room at my father’s announcement of our Chosen.
“You stupid, stupid girl. What the fuck have you done?” Samantha’s mother shouts, and the room breaks into chaos.
EPILOGUE
WYATT
“You can’t keep coming here, Wyatt. It’s too dangerous.” Aaron says when I step inside the back door.
I always wait for everyone but Ariah’s father and her security team to go to sleep before I venture inside. “I’m always safe,” I state. “No one knows where I am.”
He shakes his head, “With everything happening, we can’t keep risking it. If we play our cards right, this will all be over soon, but I can’t keep risking their lives.”
“I won’t be long,” I promise, then climb the stairs, not waiting for his reply.
Slipping into her room, I stop just inside the door and bask in her smell. She looks fucking adorable with her mouth half open and her leg wrapped up in the blanket.
I want to freeze time and stay in this moment until it’s safe to hit play. Instead, I walk across the room and climb into her bed, inching forward until her back is pressed against my chest.
The contented sigh she releases cracks and reseals my heart in the same beat. She should never be anything but happy, and I struggle with how much of this is because we entered her world.
Brushing the hair out of her face, I lean down and whisper, “I’m sorry we couldn’t fix this.”
My eyes shut as I relive the night of the announcement that sealed our fate to someone so vile. Samantha’s mother was carried out by security and hasn’t been seen or heard from since. The only success from that night was that we now have Jameson. But all his revelations have brought me here, fighting to do the most selfless act—one I don’t know if I have the will to fulfill. Not with her in my arms, where she fits like she’s always belonged.
Meanwhile, wedding plans have begun, and stupid invitations have been picked for the farce of an engagement party. Each day I have to see Samantha’s face is another day I’m reminded of what I’ve lost—what we’ve lost. We’re a fractured unit, each of us moving in silos controlled by a puppet master in designer heels with a penchant for lip filler.
Wrapping my arms across Ariah’s middle, I tug her even closer, but I know she’ll never feel close enough. I’ll always want her tethered to my soul. “There are so many things I want to tell you. So many things I need to confess,” I say, resting my chin on the top of her head. “I should’ve said all the cliche words. I should’ve professed my love for you on the plane. But I needed you to catch up.”
I smile at the look on her face when I told her she’d be surprised just how long I’d known her. Almost two years. I watched her for so long that I could anticipate what she’d do before she did it. I’ll never forget the first time the Council told me to keep an eye on her.
“We need someone who can blend in and ensure she’s safe,” my father instructed.
