eline

k and furious. The air in the study crackled, growing

wl. He crossed the space between us in two long strides and his hand clamp

b compared to the cataclysm unfolding inside

ut flinching. "I, Evangeline Hess, re

, the one I had cherished and he had ignored, was now a weapon turned against us both. A wave of naus

hair. The pain was hitting him, too. I could see it in the tightening of his jaw, the s

from the doorway, rushing to his side, her hands flutter

t. The laws of the Moon Goddess were absolu

rds forced through a clenche

rse he wouldn't. Even in this, he had to have the f

e its work over months, hollowing me out, leaving me a fragile she

cked my frame, and I tasted the cop

e was the raw panic, the undiluted terror, that fina

noth

d me. It felt like a mother's embrace, like c

my eyes fl

the sweet scent of freshly cut grass and blooming roses. I was bre

droom of the Carlisle estate. This was my room. My childhood room in th

d, the skin soft and full of life. Not the thin, p

nd rushed to the full-le

ifteen. Cheeks flushed with youth, not illness. Green eyes clear and brig

a familiar head poked in

for the Spring Equinox Festival!" he com

hair affectionately. "What are you staring at? It's your

g Equinox

membered. The festival at fifteen. The day I was formally introduced

s re

heard me. She had giv

dder of overwhelming joy and gut-wrenching

steadied me with a hand on my shoulder

ng, solid reality of his arm. Tears, hot and cleansin

a ch

ze. The vulnerability in my own eyes hardene

aid, my voice quiet but firm

looking forward to this for months! All the cor

e words tasting of glorious rebel

vow whispered to my own

I'm living