Page 46 of Riot

“I know,” I assure her.

“I love you, and no matter what happens, I need you to know that, okay?” There’s something in her tone that has me trying to twist to her, but she tightens her grip on me. “Tell me you know.”

There is a vague tremor in her voice now, and I place my hands over hers, squeezing them gently. “I know. Believe me, I know. I couldn’t have asked for a better sister, and I’m so sorry that you had to step up the way you did. It’s not fair. It should never have been your job to raise us after Mum died.”

Her breath tickles the side of my neck as she exhales. “I don’t regret a single thing. It kept us together, and that’s all I care about.”

I glance towards the window. Mace and Riot stand in the corridor, deep in conversation.

Riot lifts his gaze, and our eyes meet. His expression softens as he smiles at me, not breaking their conversation. My heart, which has space to feel now, pulses. He went above and beyond today. I would not have got through this without him.

Farther up the corridor, just on the edge of what I can see, something catches my attention.

A man is standing with his back to me.

My stomach drops to the floor. Every inch of me screams internally, and my heart is pounding so loud, I can’t hear anything but my own breath.

The same build, the same colouring…

I’m transported back to that room where so many nightmares played out in real time.

It’s Link.

My breath quickens so fast, I feel dizzy.

I lulled myself into a false sense of security, believing we were safe. We will never be safe while he’s out there.Never. He will use Seren to control me, to bring me back under his thumb. I can’t go back to that. I can’t?—

The man turns fully in my direction, and my adrenaline flees.

He’s so similar, he could be Link’s clone, but it’s not him.

It’s not him.

His eyes wander as if scanning his surroundings, and then they lock onto me. My heart seizes for a moment before he looks away.

It’s nothim.

“You okay?” Maylie asks.

He walks away, and I breathe easier.

It’s not him. He’s not here. He’s not following me.

Riot and Mace are feet from where he was standing. If it was Link, Mace would have confronted him.

It’s not him.

“I’m fine,” I say, my voice wavering despite my words.

It’s just some random guy, and I’m seeing things because I’m stressed.

I let every muscle in my body unclench while I take in the most precious thing in my life. Seren’s still warm under my touch, but her flushed cheeks are no longer tear-stained as she sleeps.

If Link is biding his time, he has no idea about the monster he will unleash if he comes for Seren. I’m not the cowering little girl he once knew.

Becoming a mother freed something dark inside.

I never fought for myself, but I would die for her. I would kill for her too.

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