Abe seems to consider. “We’ll see.”
The clouds above us gather, blotting out the sky as they plunge us into a darkness, even though it’s still morning. The streetlights click on, bathing the Shadows in a filtered yellow glow.
Lucy checks over her nails and then meets my eyes. “If you’ll just listen to him”—she motions to Abe—“he’ll make it better. You won’t have to worry about the light, the Shadows. Hell, we can go back to being a family—at least for a while. Don’t you want that?”
My face stings as if she slapped me. “Of course I want that,” I say. “But, Lucy. You just almost killed my boyfriend! You’re filled with evil impulses and Wants. I can’t exactly sit down for lasagna with you now.”
“You can forget.” And for the first time since she’s changed, I see a bit of hope on her face. “Maybe we’ll even take Dad and run away.”
“Not likely,” Onika’s voice rings out. “She’s not going anywhere—not when I’ve only just found her.”
The pressure that’s been building finally explodes in my chest as I look past my sister to see Onika walking toward us down the road.
“How are you, Charlotte?” she asks.
“It’s Elise,” I tell her, trying to keep my face brave. She shrugs like she doesn’t care.
“What’s happening?” Harlin whispers, tilting his head near mine as his eyes sweep the area.
“Onika’s here.” Nothing has changed since the last time I saw her in person. She’s still beautiful—or at least she projects herself that way. And she still doesn’t let anyone see her other than those who were once Forgotten.
Being this close to her again, I feel the light under my skin react to her. Warming me up from the inside, my bones hot enough to tear through my skin. But I don’t wince, or show any signs of the pain.
Abe turns to her, his features painted in anger. “She’s mine,” he growls.
“Abraham.” Onika laughs dismissively. “Don’t be a child. You can’t handle her sort of light, can never change her or possess her. She should only be destroyed.”
“Still mine.”
“Listen,” Onika says to Abe, hand on her hip. “You will not be the first Shadow I’ve had to extinguish, and believe me, I will enjoy doing it. Elise and I go back a while. This is meant to be, so to speak.” She gazes at me almost adoringly. “Our shared destiny. Now come here, darling. Leave your boy there.”
My first instinct is to grab something sharp and stab her, but I know it would hardly matter. She’s immortal.
When I make no move she rolls her eyes. “Fine.”
Onika reaches to grab my sister by the throat and spins her to face me. “How about now?” Onika asks calmly. “I can rip your sister open and turn her to ash. You’ve seen it. But I’m curious, Elise. Do you think I can do that to a Forgotten? I’ve never tried before, but I think it’ll work.”
“Let Lucy go,” I call, shrugging off Harlin’s hand, where he’s gripped my arm. “And I’ll come willingly.”
“No,” Harlin says. “I won’t let you.”
I turn suddenly, pressing my lips to his as I wrap my arms around him. He goes to move back, probably thinking I’ve lost my mind, when I murmur between my kisses to hide my words. “Get Monroe,” I whisper, and kiss him again.
“This is lovely,” Onika says, sounding impatient. “But if you two don’t mind, there are more pressing issues than your desire for one another.”
When I pull away, Harlin keeps his arms around me, his face still tense with worry. Even though there are no more words to hide, he kisses me again, deep and passionate.
I let my fingers run slowly through his when he pulls away, glancing back only once before going to his bike. Onika and Abe seem pleased that he’s leaving.
When Harlin is a safe distance away, I turn my glare to Onika. “Do you think I’ll turn to ash or to light when you rip out my soul?” I ask her defiantly.
“Don’t care.”
I take a few tentative steps toward her, not exactly sure what sort of plan Monroe has. But before I make another move forward, my vision starts to blur.
I am on the streets of Portland, my black hood up over my head as the rain mists down. He’s just ahead of me, dodging through the crowd at the Saturday Market. His blond hair is longer than the last time I’d seen him on the roof, his walk more confident. I see he’s doing just fine without me. My anger begins to coil around me, blotting out the sadness that had brought me here today.
“Get out of my mind!” Onika snarls. She pushes Lucy aside and brings her hands to her head as if she can protect her thoughts from my intrusion. I close my eyes, willing the Need to let me see.
I am Onika, following behind Monroe in the middle of the day, invisible to everyone. Refusing to let them see me. As Monroe pauses at a vendor, smiling at her the way he used to smile at me, I growl. He’s replaced me so easily, so effortlessly. I gave up my destiny to be with him.
As Monroe continues to talk, I snake around him, running my fingers over his shoulders, across his jaw. I get right up in his face, peering into his bright blue eyes, and feel my heart constrict. What I wouldn’t do to have them looking back into mine now.
I lower my head, hugging myself to him as if he could feel it. As if he could hold me. And for a second, I think that he will as he raises his arm. But when I look, he’s only paying the vendor as she hands him a brown paper bag. My heart sinks, and I move away, following behind him once again.
As long as Monroe Swift walks this earth, I will be here, watching him. I’ll never let him get close to a woman; I’ll never let him have children—the children that he should have had with me. I will never find peace—and will never let him have it either.
On the road in front of me, Onika laughs cruelly. Her face breaks open, peeling as she lets her facade fade away. “Do you think you have me figured out?” she asks, her mouth pulled into a sneer. “Perhaps you should see more.” She closes her eyes and I’m shoved back into her visions, only this time I’m not on the streets of Portland.
I’m a child, in a filthy basement in Russia. And I’m not alone.
I don’t last thirty seconds before I force myself out of her head, my body shivering. “No,” I say, my voice cracking. “I can’t take it.”