Page 7 of Seeking Shadows

Charlie groans. "You need to take this seriously."

"Youhaveseen me fight, right? I’m worse than Taylor, and that’s saying something."

"I know your specialty is building weapons, but you’re gonna have to make an effort to learn, or you’ll end up—"

"How’s Figaro?" I cut in, because, honestly, this conversation is exhausting.

"Zane—"

"Isaid, how’s Figaro?"

Charlie sighs. "Grumpier than ever. Pissed as hell that you’re gone."

I smirk. "Figures. He always did have abandonment issues."

"Oh, yeah. He’s taken to sitting on your pillow, staring at the door like you personally betrayed him."

"Sounds about right."

"I tried to give him one of your hoodies to sleep on, but he just smacked it off the bed and glared at me like Iinsultedhim. Dude’s dramatic as hell."

"Yeah, well, he gets it from Mia."

“Zane.”

“Okay, he gets it from me.”

Charlie snorts. "No shit."

I chuckle, shaking my head. I had originally asked Lara to take care of him, but she’s not in any condition for that right now—not with how much of a mess she’s been since her brother died. So Charlie took over, even though she swears she’s not a cat person.

"Try giving him some tuna," I suggest. "Maybe he’ll forgive you."

"Tried. He just sniffed it, turned his back on me, and walked off."

"Yikes. That’s adeepgrudge."

"Tell me about it. Your cat hates me more than most people do."

I chuckle. "Welcome to my world."

Charlie exhales sharply. "Alright, enough stalling. You need to train, Zane. I don’t care how much you suck at fighting—you can’t keep dodging this forever."

I roll my eyes. "Yeah, yeah. I’ll figure something out."

"You better." And with that, she hangs up, leaving me alone with the realization that I actually have to do this.

Fuck my life.

Charlie is good at what she does, and as much as I hate to admit it, that keeps me from spiraling into total madness.

Besides, it was my plan in the first place.

I remember how Charlie kept teasing me about how similar I was to this guy. At first, I brushed it off, but the more she said it, the more it got under my skin.

I mean, if I weren’t absolutely sure that Peter Hill was my father, I might’ve started questioning things myself. But, unfortunately, Amber Hill was my mother. No escaping that.

But, honestly? The similarities between us are only skin-deep. Reign Mitchell, yeah, he had the look. That sort of confidence that made you think he had it all together. But, deep down, he was just a spoiled brat—someone who always thought he could force the world to bend to his will. He thought that starting some big rebellion against the Society of Crow would give him the power he craved. He was chasing this idea of control, like he was meant to rule, and everyone else was just a background character in his script.

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