g, Cayla began

d with the

His smile was warm, his eyes full of a light that had long since been extingui

oked at his face, memorizing every line, every d

assion, of anger. What she felt was th

k out a

It curled, turning brown, then black. Justen's

ox. A box Justen had given her. She closed the lid,

es Grafton had approved. Simple, dark, professional att

cing them in cardboard boxes. She would donate the

ed. A message

ph

ond ring on Cherrelle's finger. Her

e best taste, doesn't he? C

a blank mask. The part of her that co

he message wi

e was in his home gym, sweat glistening

stop when

chose for the party," he said between

," Cay

food from Le Ci

in the city. It was also the place Justen

there. A sullen teenager forced

he room. Justen laughing, r

ve that memory on a platte

tion that even her past was not her own. It belonged

his face with a towel. He picked up a bottle

eld it ou

s voice flat. "You

brand he'd once thrown at her head in a fit of rage, le

Her fingers closed ar

gaze, her ow

wed the ca

low baptism. With this act, she accepted it all. The pain, th

nal confirmat

eft to save. Nothin