Kael had always loved Bianca. She had saved his life, after all.
It didn’t matter to either of them that Bianca was once my best friend—or so I thought. But as it turned out, she had only been using me to get closer to Kael. And then, when he needed the help the most, she swooped in to save him and became his guardian angel.
Little did Kael know that I was the one who saved him. That my selflessness was going to kill me. That the pain grew worse by the day because of what had happened, and I couldn’t hold on any longer.
Suddenly, a knock on the door pulled me out of my spiral. Heart leaping, I forced myself up onto my elbows and managed a small, “Come in.”
My traitorous little heart hoped it might be Kael, but it was Bianca who stepped into the room, as if summoned by my thoughts. Her blonde hair was swept up into an elaborate updo, her deep burgundy velvet gown pooling around her feet.
She clicked her tongue and strode across the room, ripping open the curtains. The bright sunlight burned my eyes, making me hiss in pain and lift my arm to shield them.
“It’s past noon, and you’re still in bed,” she tsked, shaking her head. “Typical. Well, Kael is about to name me his Luna, so he won’t have to deal with your laziness for much longer.”
“Bianca.” Blood dribbled down my chin as I struggled to sit up, but I managed it anyway and turned directly toward her. “Bianca, you know I’m dying. You have to help me.”
For a moment, just a moment, I hoped that the girl who had once been my friend might at least show some pity.
But that was the thing about hope. I should have learned when I was thirteen, watching my parents’ heads fall from their bodies, that it was a slippery thing that would wriggle through your fingers and leave you bleeding out on the floor.
Bianca’s lips curved into a smirk. “Why should I help you? My family destroyed the Silvercrest Pack, and now I get to watch its last survivor die.”
My eyes widened as it clicked into place. “You—” My words cut off as I choked on another mouthful of blood. Crimson liquid splattered across my nightgown, just as it had ten years ago. Only this time, it was my own.
“Yes,” Bianca said coolly. “It is with great pleasure that I watch the final Silvercrest parasite choke to death.”
I didn’t answer; couldn’t because of all the blood. There was so much. Too much.
All I could do was stare at Bianca as the world began to fade at the edges. The room tilted as I swayed, then fell back onto the pillows, too exhausted to stay upright any longer.
“They shouldn’t have let you escape all those years ago,” Bianca sighed, stepping into my rapidly narrowing field of vision. “I could have been with Kael for so much longer if they hadn’t. But…” She glanced at her nails as if this were nothing. As if my death were merely an inconvenience. “It was so fun to watch you grovel for his affection.”
And just like that, she was gone.
As my final moments washed over me like the tide pulling away from the shore, one final tear slipped down my cheek.
What a fool I had been, believing that Kael would ever love me. That he would ever choose me over the girl whose family had stolen my own.
In those moments, nothing mattered except for my silly, dying heart. And in those moments, all I could think was that if I could live again, I would never let that naive thing dictate my life.
“Kael,” I whispered with my final breath, “I will never love you again…”
It was a promise. Not to him, but to myself; that if I could have another chance, I would protect my heart forever.
And then the world went dark.
A moment later, my eyes snapped open—only I was no longer in the plush, dark room that had become my prison, but somewhere else entirely. Somewhere warm and cozy and familiar.
My bedroom from when I was seventeen.
And there, standing over my bed, was a younger Kael.
“What were you dreaming about?” he asked, tilting his head, dark hair falling into onyx eyes. “Why were you calling my name?”
