Page 46 of The Evernight Court

“How do you even survive locked up in that place? Have you lost your mind yet?” was her greeting.

“You scared me,” I muttered, turning to leave as quickly as I could, get back to my tower before one of the Evernights found me out here.

I had no illusion that they didn’t know when I walked out those doors or when I was in the woods every night. I had no illusion that they didn’t know that I was training with Quinn, either. Of course, they knew—but I didn’t care as long as they didn’t get in my way.

Maybe they thought I was getting it out of my system.Maybe they thought I’d come around soon and submit to them the way they wanted me to. Whatever their reasoning, I’d take it as long as they left me alone, at least until I was capable of stopping them.

“Well, you scare me every day,” Lucinda said as she came after me, her black dress flared from her hips pushing me to the side as she walked beside me. “What are you doing in there? Why won’t you let anyone through? Are you sick? Are you?—”

“I’m fine, Lucinda. Really. I’m okay. I just don’t want to see anyone, that’s all.”

“But why? What kind of a life is that?!” she insisted, following me even though I was rushing down the hallway to get to the third tower.

For me, it’s a much better life than the oneyoulive,I wanted to say, but I bit my tongue. Lucinda was always strange, and I didn’t even think she hated me as much as the other brides did. I wouldn’t go so far as to call her a friend, but we could be civil to one another. We could talk.

So, when we reached the main hall and found it empty, I stopped and turned to her for a moment.

“Grey is gone, Lucinda. I don’t belong with any of the others. I don’t want to spend time with any of the others, and the brides hate my guts, so they don’t want to spend time with me,” I said in a rush.

“Well, of course, they do. You got Master Grey banished. Amita and Cynthia are just now gathering themselves,” she said.

“Romin banished Grey because hewantedto, even though he knew that Shadow was coming for me. You all know that. You saw that Storm only attacked Shadow to save my life—you were there,” I said through gritted teeth, and Lucinda flinched like I’d assaulted her.

“Master Romin is a fairman,” she muttered.

I was tempted to laugh. What the hell did I even expect?

“So, keep him. Have your fun with him. I’ll be just fine alone in my tower.” And I turned around to leave.

“They won’t be letting you get away with this for long,” Lucinda called, but she was already walking away.

“I know!” I called back.

“And be careful with what you eat! I hear the staff plans to spit on your food before they bring it to you!” she sang, then disappeared around the corner. I cringed so hard every hair on my body stood at attention.

Spit on my food? Seriously?

Muttering curse words under my breath, I pushed open the doors of the third tower, about to breathe a little easier when I felt the energy somewhere behind me, calling at me, as if it was poking me on the back.

I turned.

Valentine was standing near the farthest right corner, hands in his pockets as he leaned against the wall. Shadow was sitting on his shoulder, his long tail wrapped around his neck like an accessory, just like always.

My heart fell all the way to my heels and my muscles locked in place.

Valentine was right there, and he looked…bad.

His hair was longer than I remembered, and all over the place. His shirt was wrinkled, the bags under his eyes deeper than I’d ever seen them before, blue like they were bruises. They made his eyes look even darker in turn. They made him look fuckingtortured.

For a moment there, I saw my whole life flashing by, and a part of me was a bit relieved. If Shadow came for me right now, I had no chance of stopping him. Grey wasn’t here anymore. Storm was withering away in a cave somewhere, too. Nobody would be here to save me from the tiny dragon or his master. I would finally befree.

But Valentine didn’t attack me. Instead, the look in those eyes said he was miserable, and he was miserable because of me.

He wanted to talk to me. He wanted to reach out his hand for me.

It made me sick to my stomach just to imagine it, sick enough to get my body moving again.

I slipped inside the door and slammed it shut as my heart about beat out of my ribcage. Whatever Valentine had planned to do by taking me to Faeries’ Aerie or that morning in the clearing when he sent Shadow for my neck, I’d figure it out eventually. Just as soon as I was strong enough to handle him when he tried to kill me again.

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