fresh flowers, something expensive burning in

ned there. Arranged. I wondered if Killian had called ahead, t

e from good genes and better surgeries. Mid thirties maybe, with dark hair that fell in

f her tongue with just enough condesce

voice held a war

of woman who smiled while

etly, but her eyes stayed cold.

ly.

ith blonde hair cut short and sharp. She looked me u

said flatly.

n's tone was sh

stood, arms crossed, jaw set. She wasn't afrai

pposed to pretend this is normal? T

eyes snapped to me. "And I c

hen, unexpectedly, she grin

ful in a faded sort of way, like a painting left too long in the s

realized. The one who'd

s something almost gentle in his v

losing interest, star

was small, delicate, with dark skin and careful eyes. She watche

r. Calculat

htly, like we were sharing a pr

nd something in her expression was differ

this must be overwhelming. If you need anything,

o shouldn't

ou," I said, keepi

something flickered in her eyes.

n older woman in a crisp uniform who'd appeared silently beside

d, turning back to look at me with

, intimate despite the audience. "Wear so

ks. From anger, I to

d back to me with varying expression

her already perfect hair. "

than the last. Marble floors, crystal chandeliers, artwork that probabl

like a m

pening a door at the

inside a

space, draped in silk that probably cost more than a car. Floor to ceiling windows looked out over

e roses in crystal vases,

t in for you," Elena said. "

hed a petal. Soft. Perfect. Probab

ted

o a walk in closet I hadn't noticed. "Though Mr. Thorne has arr

t have his newest priz

he dining room is on the first floor, we

ng the door wit

s al

y forehead against the cool glass

e and I already felt

tiful and vast and surrounded by walls.

nded myself. No

too far away to make out clearly, but moving with pur

watching, and even from this distance

appeared in