cuts through the air. All of the yapping is silenced. I drag my eyes back to King’s parents. Dahlia is staring right at me. Dark eyes like Kohen’s and long brown hair that looks like she’s put a hair straightener through it one too many times. She’s flawlessly intimidating, and she’s not even spoken a word yet.
“Kingston.” She turns to look at King. “Do I need to ask?”
Kohen shuffles his feet, standing in front of me. “A promise is a promise, Mother.”
What the fuck is going on? I turn around to seek out Killian. When I find he’s watching me closely from behind with Keaton and Kyrin beside him, I calm slightly.
“Hmmm, maybe.” She flicks her nails around. “Dove Noctem. Come forward, please. I would like to get a good look at you.”
I freeze, and then run my hands down my white skinny jeans. Sidestepping away from Kohen, I begin to make my way toward her when Kohen catches my arm. “Dove.” He looks at me, confused, his eyebrows crossed and his forehead marred in confusion. I’d like to see what he looks like without all of the stage makeup, but I’d be lying if I said he didn’t pull it off, looking like a hot deranged pirate.
I try to pull my arm out of his grip, but he doesn’t budge. Then I see it. The cool, candid guy I met earlier has slipped and now something else has come over. It’s eerie to watch. Kohen’s eyes go straight to his parents. “She’s not Dove.”
“Pardon?” I ask, searching his eyes. “What—”
“Yes. She is,” King says, his eyes on Kohen. “I’ve been around her. She is.”
Kohen yanks me into his chest and I throw my hands out, stopping him from coming any farther. “Really, brother? Mind if I test that theory?” Kohen doesn’t wait for King to answer because his lips are on mine. I keep mine closed, along with my eyes and count to ten.
One. A river flashes over my eyes with the same little girl with red hair.
Two. She slightly turns her face, and I try to grasp more of it. Instead, my hand goes to the back of Kohen’s neck, and my head turns, giving him more access.
Three. The girl finally turns around, only it’s not me. She looks like me, exactly like me, only different. My tongue slips into his mouth and he pulls me into his chest tighter.
Four. The girl waves, a big smile on her face. Two dimples pop from her cheeks, only she’s not waving at me.
Five. I slowly turn around to see who it is that she’s waving to, when I see two little boys, a little older than us.
Six. One is wearing a baseball cap backwards and the other is wearing a small fedora.
Seven. Kohen picks me up from my legs and I wrap them around his waist, holding on and deepening the kiss. The boy wearing the cap that’s flipped backwards comes toward me. Closer and closer. He’s familiar. So fucking familiar.
Eight. He smiles, so bright that his straight white teeth gleam against the sun. The one wearing the fedora strolls straight past me and goes for the other redheaded girl who looks like me.
Nine. Who is the girl who looks like me? I don’t know. But this boy is almost right in front of me now. His fingers stretch around my chin as he tilts my head to his.
Ten. “Kohen fucked around and Mom and Dad are fighting again.”
I jump away from Kohen, shoving him off me. “What just happened?” I swipe at my mouth and search for King. “What the fuck was that?”
King is glaring at me, seething, but something else sits behind his eyes. “Told you,” King announces, his face dead and his eyes emotionless. “It’s Dove.”
I turn back to face Kohen, who is searching my eyes.
“How do I know you? And you!” I turn, pointing to King. “I fucking know you!”
“No, you don’t,” King says, picking up a glass of whiskey and shooting it back. He runs his fingers through his hair and points at Kohen. “You know him.” I’ve seen King like this, but not for a while. Even when he was standoffish in the RV, he was never cold. The way he is now is similar to how he was when I first met him in the cage.
I spin around, tears blurring my eyes.
I hear his mom sigh, before she makes her way toward me. When she stands, she towers over my short frame. She