Page 10 of The Devil's Thorn
The faint light from under it lets me know she still didn’t go to bed. She never sleeps deeply. But she doesn’t come out.
She never asks where I’m going.
Never asks why I leave with tension in my shoulders and shadows under my eyes.
She just waits for me to come back.
I slip my coat on and wrap the scarf tighter around my neck. It’s still early—sky barely bruised with morning—but the cold cuts sharper than usual.
I open the front door with a quiet click and step out onto the porch. The moment it closes behind me, the chill wraps around me like a second skin.
And just like that,Isabelladisappears.
Because today, I’m Natasha Orlova.
Poised. Sharp. Controlled. A girl with no ghosts. No blood-stained past. Just grace in her walk and steel in her spine.
As I reach the curb, Kellan leans across the front seat and pushes the door open. The interior light flicks on, washing the car in soft gold.
I slide in, pull the door shut, and instantly feel the warmth of the heater blowing across my face.
Ash is in the back. Silent. Dressed in a black crew neck, sleeves rolled, arms folded. His dark eyes flick to me but he doesn’t speak.
Kellan doesn’t turn around. Just drives.
The silence hangs there, thick and familiar.
Then he speaks.
“You ready?”
I keep my gaze forward. “Born ready.”
Ash snorts under his breath.
“Don’t do that,” I say, voice even.
“What?” he mutters.
“Doubt me.”
“I’m not doubting you,” he says, leaning forward slightly. “I just don’t like this plan.”
“You never like the plan.”
“Because the plan keeps putting you in front of the same man you’re supposed to kill, but instead, you keepnot killing him.”
My jaw ticks. “You think I’m getting soft.”
“I think you’re already in too deep.”
“Then stay out of it.”
The words come sharper than I mean them to. They land heavy in the car.
Kellan exhales quietly. “Let’s not do this now.”
I lean back in my seat, trying to force the tension out of my body.
