Page 57 of Hell Hath No Fury

I nod, happy for the distraction. “Exactly. Here, we can be crybabies. Out there, we’re nothing but cold-hearted, unrepentant killers.”

Camilla shakes her head as she grins, and I know she knows exactly what I’m talking about. If anyone understands the power of public persona, it’s the Chameleon.

Darius and Declan step back from each other, Darius’s hands now gripping Declan’s jacket, while Declan holds Darius’s head between his two hands, staring at him fiercely. Darius murmurs something incoherent, earning a laugh and a head shake from Declan.

“Don’t you ever fucking do that to us again,” Declan chokes out, his hands squeezing Darius’s head and giving him a small shake. “I’m fucking serious. We won’t survive it.”

My eyes burn again because he’s right—we won’t survive it.

With a few more pats on the back and reassuring words, Declan and Darius eventually step away from each other. Darius turns to me and asks, “Does Antoinette have a phone?”

“If she does, she didn’t get it from me.”

“The phone she had previously has not been active,” Camilla adds. “So, it’s safe to assume she doesn’t have one.”

“Why are you asking?” Tony interjects with a frown.

“Cause I really wanna send her a middle finger right now.”

Tony’s bark of laughter matches my own, both of us surprised by Darius’s random comment. Not that he hasn’t spent plenty of time pissed at Antoinette for one reason or another; he’s just not prone to voicing his displeasure in such a juvenile manner.

Declan, having no idea what’s gone on, frowns. “What happened?”

“This happened.” Darius points to the growing lump on his head, and after a moment, Declan chuckles, not bothering to hide his amusement. “You pissed her off already?”

Darius scowls, but then Camilla steps in front of him, phone in hand. “Go on then, Darius. Let’s see it.”

He hesitates for a moment, briefly torn on whether or not he wants to follow through on his impulsive statement. He touches the lump that appears to be getting bigger with every passing minute, his scowl deepening, and drops his hand from his head, moving it directly in front of him as he extends his middle finger with great feeling.

Camilla takes the photo and checks it before looking up at Darius again. “You sure about this?”

“Yup,” he replies without hesitation. “Send it.”

Camilla looks at me, eyebrows raised, and I shrug. “You heard the man.”

Camilla grins, mischief in her eyes as the telltale sound of the message sending drops around us. She doesn’t wait to see ifthere’s a response; she just pockets the phone and then turns to me and asks, “So, did you figure out where they’re going.”

“Yes,” I reply as I pack some of my equipment into a large bag, then hook it across my shoulders. “Aggie’s gonna send us an itinerary. We gotta get to the airport.”

I’m halfway to the door when Camilla catches up to me. “Do I get to come along?”

“Will Kaian let you?” I tease, knowing Camilla asks for permission even less than Antoinette.

She squints at me, keeping pace as I hurry down the hallway, but says nothing. Catching her devious smirk from the corner of my eye, I stop at the top of the stairs, motioning for her to go ahead.

She gives me a knowing look, raising a brow as she walks ahead of me, walking swiftly down the stairs, and I follow along behind, happily safe from retaliation.

For now.

25

A Forked Tongue

Lilith

Whenmyphonefirstpinged, I thought it might be Antonio, ready to apologize for either ditching me or hanging up on me. Or maybe both.

Annoyed, I see it’s from Camilla to one of our group chats, but when I open it, I laugh and hand my phone to Antoinette. “Pretty sure this is for you.”

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