you’re not safe in the same house as your father, but I won’t be able to sleep at night if I’m second-guessing where you are.”
I sigh, feeling defeated. “I shouldn’t have come. I thought you’d be happy to see me.”
We haven’t seen each other in four days because his father’s had him running errands—errands he won’t tell me about. He dismisses them as nothing, so I let it go.
“I am happy to see you, but not when it puts you in harm’s way. Promise me you won’t do this again. If you want to see me that bad, I’ll find a way to come to you.”
An unladylike snort escapes me as I shove him away, causing him to stumble back a step.
“The prophecy says we rise hand in hand, which means I’m at your side, taking the same risks as you. If I can’t make it across the city in one piece, then I’ll be no good to you when the time comes.”
Reaching for my hand, he pulls me against him and smiles down at me.
“I thought your beauty was too much before, but when you’re angry, it shines like the sun.”
What? I’m angry, and he’s paying me compliments.
“I’m happy that you’re here, and I’m even happier you got here in one piece. I’m sorry, okay?”
That’s more like it. I lean up on my tiptoes and press my lips to his. This is what I needed most. Apart from being close to him, seeing his face and hearing his voice, I needed this kiss. It was worth the trek across the city.
“I wish I could take you up to my room,” he murmurs, pulling away to rest his forehead against mine.
If we were any other teenagers, I’d take the risk of being caught by his parents. But even though I risked coming to see him tonight, I know going into his home is too far. Not that he hasn’t done it to me, showing up at my birthday party.
“We have so many wishes, it’s hard to remember them all sometimes.”
The disappointment is too much. I rest my head against his chest, wanting to feel his heartbeat.
“Not long now, my Mila. Then, neither of us will have to skulk around.”
The iron gates start to grind as they open. When a set of bright headlights shine toward us, Raphael yanks me down behind the bushes.
“Who is it?” I ask, noting a sleek black limo driving through, followed by three SUVs.
“My parents. They were at a charity event tonight. They’re home early.”
My heart races as we watch the driver open their door for his parents to climb out. His father doesn’t wait for his mother, waving her off dismissively when she calls out after him.
Tensing beside me, Raphael narrows his eyes in their direction.
“Why don’t our fathers know how to love?” I ask, keeping my voice low. Not that I think we could be heard from here, anyway.
“I imagine it’s because they were taught nothing but hatred.”
I tend to agree with him, and it dawns on me that Raphael and I, despite our upbringings, aren’t the same. Belief in the prophecy only grows. We must be different if we’re not like them.
“I’ll never treat you like my father treats my mother, I swear it to you now, Mila.”
Looping my arm through his, I lean against him and find his hand. “You wouldn’t know how to.”
From the moment I heard him speak as I stared up at the fallen angel in the mayor’s mansion, he’s spoken with only love and affection toward me.
“Our children will know love, and know nothing of hatred or disrespect,” he spits out.
I quirk my brow up at him. “Children? We’re not even married yet.”
His shoulders relax, and he falls back on his ass, taking me with him.
“I want everything with you, Mila. I don’t just want change for Vita. I want change in every aspect of my life. One day soon, this place is going to be handed down to me, and I want the grass to be played on and the swimming pool out back to be swam in. I want to hear laughter at the dinner table and throughout each room.”
“You said we were going to live somewhere else,” I remind him.
“We will. But as much as I despise this house now, I know it’s only because of the people that live here. The place has been in my family for two hundred years, so I don’t know how to feel about letting it go.”
I too despise