phone, the screen light illuminating his face, and paying no attention to anything around him.
It only takes two minutes for the cab to show up, and I all but shove Karsyn’s big ass into the backseat. I wait until the driver rolls down the passenger side window before handing him all of the money in my purse, easily twice as much as the cab fare.
“Just in case he throws up,” I explain, and the man wrinkles his nose in disgust.
“Address?” he queries, and I recite Karsyn’s address from memory.
“How do you know that, princess?” the man in question asks from the back. His cheek is smooshed against the leather seat as his large body hangs half off and half on. It’s so fucking adorable that I want to take a picture.
“Because I stalk you,” I deadpan. “I tie cameras to the claws of ravens and then send them out of my window with the offering of fresh hearts when they return.”
Silence reigns as the driver stares at me in abject horror. Karsyn just snorts in amusement.
“You’re fucked up. My pretty, fucked up, black-hearted princess,” he murmurs sleepily. “I think that’s why I loved you.”
His words cause my entire body to freeze as if ice has been injected directly into my veins and is wreaking havoc on my system. I tell myself that it’s just the ramblings of a drunk man. That he doesn’t know what the fuck he’s saying. That he’s delirious and so fucking out of it, I could be wearing a penis suit and he wouldn’t notice.
But my traitorous heart jumpstarts in my chest, before dropping through my stomach and landing in a discarded heap at my feet.
“Goodbye, Karsyn,” I whisper, backing away from the cab as it begins to pull out of the driveway. The passenger window is still rolled down, so I’m able to hear Karsyn’s voice, clear as day.
“Goodbye, my princess.”
My princess???
What the fuck just happened?
Chapter 27
I wake up with the hangover from hell…though it shouldn’t be at all surprising, considering that the second I got home, I raided Nana’s fridge and stole every last bottle of beer. I needed to drink the confusion away. The chaos. The stormy clouds hovering at the edges of my mind, just waiting to roll forward and release heavy torrents.
Regretting all of my life choices, I throw off my covers—my stomach turning queasy, as if dozens of tiny hands are twisting up my insides—and squint at the sunlight shining through the small, triangular window. Usually, I love the feel of the sun’s rays warming my skin, but today, I wish I invested in a curtain or something. The sunlight brutalizes my too sensitive eyes.
I fell asleep wearing the pretty green dress, so I quickly strip it off and change into a pair of sweats and a ratty T-shirt. I don’t bother with my hair, allowing the snarled, tangled strands to hang limply down my back. I’ll shower as soon as I get food in my system.
My head throbs as I descend the ladder, my footsteps threatening to burst my eardrum. When did I become so fucking loud? Where’s the silence when you need it? Feeling disgruntled, I waddle to the kitchen, continually wincing at the blinding lights and every loud noise.
Surprisingly, Nana, Christian, and Polo are already seated at the dining room table, deep in conversation. For a brief moment, I worry they’re going to reprimand me, or hell, even punish me for getting wasted. An apology is on the tip of my tongue when Nana whips her head in my direction, her eyes glossy with unshed tears.
Like a cold bucket of water being dumped over my head, the drowsiness abates, leaving me alert and cautious.
“What’s going on?” I ask tersely, moving forward until I’m directly behind Christian’s chair at the table. “Is it Gabriel?”
Nana shakes her head silently, tiny tracks of tears continuing to rain down her red cheeks. I can’t quite understand the expression on her face. Her lips purse as she nods towards the seat opposite her, and I don’t hesitate before sitting down.
“What’s going on?” I repeat. “Is it Mom? The coven?”
The silence is so fucking pronounced, it seems to cover all four of us like thick syrup. I can feel it sticking to my arms and legs, to every bare inch of skin exposed, and try as I might, I can’t rid the substance from my body.
“There was another murder,” Nana admits in a choked voice. She focuses on her hands, currently ripping apart