Page 64 of Inked Athena

But the report in my pocket feels like it’s on fire, reminding me why I’m here.

This betrayal changes everything.

“Nova.”

She turns, and that fucking smile stays on her face despite the murder in mine. “I didn’t think I’d get to see you until this evening. Want to take the puppies for a walk around the loch with me?”

Yes. God yes. I want nothing more than to pretend everything’s fine, to walk with her and watch her laugh at the puppies’ antics. To feel our child move under my palm when I touch her belly. Toforget for one moment that my entire world is a house of cards built on shifting sand.

But that’s not who I am. Not what I was raised to be.

I shake my head, keeping my voice glacier-cold. “No. Where’s Myles?”

Her smile falters. She rises slowly to her feet, ignoring the puppies yapping at her heels. “I don’t know. Is everything alright?”

“Not even close.”

“Sam...?” Her voice is soft, questioning. It takes everything I have to look away from the concern in her eyes. “What’s going on?”

“You’ll find out later. After we talk to Myles.”

She doesn’t question me again as she follows me out of the barn. The puppies try to come with us, but she pushes them into the pen that Mr. Morris made for them and then rushes out after me. She’s out of breath as she tries to keep up.

But I don’t stop. Or slow down. I can’t. I take long strides like I might be able to outrun this. Like, if I move quickly enough, I won’t have to deal with it.

We round the corner of the castle, the turrets and gargoyles looming over us like silent judges. And there’s Myles, kneeling in the vegetable garden like he doesn’t have blood on his hands. Like he hasn’t betrayed everything we built together.

The smile on his face dies just like Nova’s did.

“What’s going on?”

“Follow me,” I command. “Both of you.”

They fall in behind me as I lead us through the castle’s winding corridors to the library. No one speaks, but I can feel them exchanging glances, communicating silently like they’ve been doing for weeks now. Planning. Plotting. Betraying.

The library doors slam behind us with a boom that echoes off the shelves. Dust motes dance in the sunbeams streaming through the high windows, shining almost like spotlights.

Exactly like spotlights, actually. Too fucking fitting.

I gesture for them to sit.

Nova does. Myles doesn’t.

That’s fine. It just means that, if I do decide to punch him in the end, he’ll have farther to fall.

I pull out the report that has been burning a hole in my pocket since a few minutes before I set out in search of them. The pages make a satisfying crack as they connect with Myles’s chest before fluttering to the floor at his feet.

He bends to retrieve them, and I watch his face as he reads. Watch the color drain from his cheeks as reality sinks in.

Nova shifts in her chair, anxiety rolling off her in waves. “What the hell is going on?” Her eyes dart between us like a trapped animal. “Samuil, why are you treating us like we’ve done something wrong?”

My eyes land on hers. “Haven’t you?”

“No, I haven’t.” Her chin lifts with that stubborn defiance I usually find endearing. Today it just feeds my rage. She turnsto Myles, her expression softening. “Myles? What does it say? What’s the letter about?”

Myles’s hand drops, but he’s still gripping the papers tightly, his knuckles white. He answers Nova, but he’s looking at me.

“It’s not a letter,” he says hoarsely. “It’s a report.”

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