Tertia’s voice raised a notch. “Connie has always been jealous that her husband isn’t part of the Inner Council of Representatives, and now, she’ll lord this over me for the next century. By the Black Sands, the woman will be more insufferable than she already is.”
Ryker barely stopped himself from rolling his eyes. That’s all life was to his mother. Social games, gossiping, and politics.
Meanwhile, Ryker had real problems, like a murderous wife.
The Representative was still scolding him.
Ryker listened with half an ear as Tertia told him he should have informed her of what happened earlier, how he was a disappointment,how he needed to shape up if he ever wanted to bear the mantle of Representative in the future.
These were all things he’d heard before.
A half-hour passed, during which Ryker said maybe three sentences. He was ready to throw his phone out of the window when a floorboard creaked. He looked up, and a pair of onyx eyes met his from across the room.
How long had Brynleigh been standing there?
“I have to go, Mother.” He flicked his gaze back to the phone. “I’m sorry. I’ll message you.”
She screeched, “Ryker, don’t you hang up?—”
He ended the call, flung the phone face down on the table, and dropped his head into his hands.
CHAPTER 7
Wishes were for Fools
Several minutes ago
The sound of voices pulled Brynleigh out of a restless, nightmare-filled sleep.
She’d been back in that chair. Silver daggers pierced her arms and legs. Rivers of blood streamed down her limbs. Emilia, the witch, had been taunting her with her magic, burning her over and over again until she broke down in tears.
And then Brynleigh woke up. Naked. Alone. Safe… for now.
It took her several minutes to calm her heart rate and realize the voices weren’t just in her head. She dressed in the same sweater and leggings as before and tied her hair in a messy bun before moving on silent feet to the door.
Her shadows had fully returned, and their song was a soothing lullaby. Her wounds were healed, and her skin was back to normal.
On the outside, she looked like herself again, but on the inside, she knew she’d never be the same person she’d been.
Her old normal was gone, never to be seen again.
Ryker hated her; Jelisette had betrayed and abandoned her; and she would probably die when she returned to her Maker’s safe house.
Maybe things were always destined to turn out this way. Maybeshe’d been a fool even to pretend that she and Ryker could have a happy life together.
It was obvious now that would never happen.
Ryker’s anger was palpable. It had been the third member of their conversation earlier.
His feelings were justified and understandable.
The thing was, Brynleigh was angry, too.
At first, she thought she was just angry with Jelisette and Zanri.That, at least, was obvious.
But now that she was feeling better, she realized she was angry with Ryker, too.
This fresh fury had a rawness to it that burned her heart from the inside out. During the Choosing, Ryker had told her how much he loved his family. He swore he’d do anything for them.