Hyacinth - By Abigail Owen Page 0,18

have an idea on how to handle this. Can you meet me at Hugh and Lucy’s place?”

“Sure… but I don’t see how that will help, unless you’re planning on killing me when I get there.” She frowned and briefly wondered if that wouldn’t be for the best.

After Ellie had hung up, Selene sat for minutes, paralyzed. All she could think over and over again was, What if I did this? She didn’t want to believe it. She’d never directly killed anyone before. It didn’t make sense that she’d start now.

Griffin will never, ever believe me, she thought as she forced herself to get dressed. He already has reason to hate me. Doesn’t remotely trust me.

The anger in his eyes when he’d looked at her had broken Selene’s heart. The connection she’d felt with Griffin was undeniable—she’d felt it from the first time she’d seen him. She’d visited him in his dreams for years. But he hadn’t known she was real. And now he hated her.

As Selene pulled up outside Hugh and Lucy’s house, her heart was pounding so hard that she thought it was trying to beat its way out of her chest. After so many years of living, she knew that moments like this—life-altering, road-less-travelled type moments—were preciously rare. She’d never felt so petrified.

She raised a shaky hand to the door and knocked loudly. Ellie answered, and Selene smiled at the friendly face.

“Hi,” Ellie said quietly. “Thanks for coming over.”

“Hi… sure,” Selene mumbled.

“We’ve got a little work ahead of us, and I’ll need your complete trust and cooperation.”

Selene nodded. “You have a plan?”

“Yes, but it depends on you.”

“Anything,” Selene vowed softly. “Anything it takes.”

Ellie stepped aside and invited Selene in. They stood in the hallway, and Ellie proceeded to explain her plan in detail. Particularly Selene’s part in it. As she spoke, Selene’s heart became heavier and heavier, turning into a rock in the pit of her stomach. But she kept nodding. She’d meant what she said—she would do anything.

No matter how painful it would be.

Chapter 12

When Selene and Ellie entered the room, Griffin carefully hid his mixed emotions. Selene’s grey eyes looked almost silver, and she held herself with a regal poise. She looked as beautiful in broad daylight as she did in his dreams, and Griffin had to remind himself that he was looking at a killer—not an angel.

Selene’s heart couldn’t decide where it wanted to be, in her stomach or in her throat. Somehow it was managing to be both places at once. Or, at the very least, it was not in her chest, beating steadily as it was supposed to. She still managed to keep her cool mask in place and nod as Ellie introduced her to everyone. She noticed Griffin from the corner of her eye, but didn’t need to look his way to feel the waves of his hostility as he stared at the floor.

Selene sighed. That bridge had clearly been burned a long time ago.

Ellie turned to the others and started explaining her plan. “This will be a little different from last time,” she began. “Selene has agreed not to block any of our powers. I’ll be able to add Lucy’s and Lila’s into the mix. So you’ll all be able to feel for yourselves if what Selene shows us is the truth and what her intentions are. You’ll also be able to feel her emotions.”

“Ummmmm,” Selena interrupted. “I should warn you about a few things. First, I’ve been blocking others from knowing all of my powers for a very, very long time. It’s sort of an ingrained habit now. I’ll do my best to drop all my defenses, but I might need occasional reminders if you feel like something isn’t working right.”

Selene looked from face to face, trying to gauge their reactions. She relaxed a little bit. As far as she could tell, Griffin was the only person completely closed to her.

“Also,” she continued more softly, “Ellie tells me that she’ll be sharing my memories with you and the emotions associated with them.” Selene cleared her throat, trying to decide how to express her concern. “I’m afraid that they are very… um… painful, for lack of a better word. I’ll do my best to remember things accurately, and if I can lessen the discomfort for you, I will. But please just be prepared.”

Selene had no idea how she was going to survive what she was about to endure, let alone be able to protect anyone else. She’d never allowed herself to