Page 190 of Dark Souls

“No!” I said, staring into her eyes so she could see I was telling the truth. I had nothing to hide from her and at that moment, I was actually grateful that my parents had kept me out of their twisted secret lives. “God, no!”

“How did you think your father made his millions then, Lia?”

“I… I don’t know. I just thought Arius paid him really, really well.”

Ilaria scoffed. “How did you know about it?” She fixed me with her fierce glare, distrusting and guarded. “That night at the club. You were the one who told me aboutThe Underground. You knew it was behind those curtains. How?”

“My cousin. Hector. He told me he was a member once. I asked questions, but he refused to tell me much about it.”

“Had the pleasure of meeting that asshole last night. He had Luka’s sister captive.”

“Is he…” I swallowed when I saw the deadly look in her eyes.

“Dead? Best kill I’ve ever made. So far…”

I nodded, hiding how terrified I was of her at that moment. “Good. I hated him. He was an asshole.” It was true. Hector was a piece of shit. But my father had taken him in when my aunt died and practically raised him like his son. He’d given that knob a lot more attention than he’d ever given me. I always thought it was because he was a man. I shook my head before pressing my forehead against my steering wheel. “I feel like such an idiot. My whole family is evil.”

“You’re not an idiot,” Ilaria grumbled, folding her arms across her chest. “But if you are looking for sympathy, you won’t find it here.”

“I’m not looking for sympathy,” I blurted. It was the last thing I wanted. “Hayes was wrong. So are my parents. He is the one who is too good for me. It’s not the other way around. I’ve done nothing to deserve him. He’s suffered for years because of me. How can I ever make that right?”

“You can’t,” Ilaria said sternly, staring at my face when I turned to look at her. “You can never give him back the years he’s lost. But you can give him the future he deserves. You can change. Be better. Do better. Be the person he deserves.”

“How?” I whispered.

“You start by picking a side. I’m taking your parents down, Lia. With or without your help. I know they are your parents, but after everything they have done to my mate and to yours, I won’t let them get away with it. So, you need to pick a side. You are either with me… or against me. What will it be?”

Beautiful Monster

“Doyoureallybelievethat the raven is going to deliver that necklace to Ilaria and the royals?” Hayes drew a circle in the sand with the end of a bone. We were playing our third game of noughts and crosses because, well, what the fuck else was there to do? And Hayes seemed ecstatic to have an opponent after having only himself to play for years. He also couldn’t shut the fuck up.

“Probably not. The dumb bird will most likely take it back to its nest and sit on it again.”

“But you said it had helped you before?” Hayes wouldn’t let go of his hope and I had to admire the fact he still had any to begin with.

I thought back to all the times a raven had visited me down in the Knowlton’s cellars. It carried in dead mice and even rabbits through the drainage system to feed from when they were starving me. It had sat with me in the dark when I was battered and bleeding. Alatar Knowlton was once torturing me when it attacked him, trying to claw out his eyes. I could never be sure it was the same raven that had always been around. There were so many of them that flocked around the manor day and night that I just presumed they were a family of ravens that had grown accustomed to my presence there. Saw me as their… friend? Fuck knows. But this… this was extreme. How did the raven even know where I was? How did it know to bring me the necklace? Was it being controlled by someone? Did I have a guardian fucking angel after all?

“Used to think I was going mad,” I admitted, drawing a cross to block his vertical path with my finger. “Thinking the raven cared about me. I knew it couldn’t be the same raven because, as far as I am aware, ravens don’t live for centuries. But, I don’t know. Maybe…”

“Maybe it’s not what it seems?” Hayes answered for me.

I shrugged my shoulders. “I’ve learned to expect the unexpected in this life. If that raven is being controlled by someone, let’s just hope that someone is on our side.”

Hayes added his circle and drew a line horizontally. “Won again. You are terrible at this game.”

With a groan, I leaned my head back against the rock, staring up at the stars. I couldn’t give a shit about the game. I couldn’t focus on anything but wondering what the hell was happening out there and why I had called IlariaSnowin that video. The word had just slipped out with no conscious thought as if it was instinctive. And it felt natural. It felt right to call her that, but I had no idea why. More questions plagued my mind. Had Ronnie done what I asked? Had Ilaria figured out where Hana was? Was Hana free and finally safe? Would the raven really do me a solid and take that necklace where it needed to go? Would I die never knowing the answers to those questions?

“Can I ask you something?” Hayes cocked his head to the side, staring at my face.

“Do I have a choice?”

“I noticed your eyes haven’t changed.”

“That’s not a question.”

“Is it just because you are… hungry?”

Glancing across at him, deadpan, I said, “I have no connection to my human side. That’s why my eyes don’t change.”

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