Elvira

I didn’t sleep the night before. The moon hung low, heavy like the thoughts pressing against my skull. Cassian was still not speaking to me, and  truthfully, I didn’t want him to.. Not until I stopped hearing Callen’s last words behind my eyelids. Not until I could forget that he—Carlton’s son—pretended to be my friend.

So I focused on something else.

The retired activist Denrik, was out of reach. I’d called, twice, pacing the length of my room with my palm pressed to my temple. No one knew when he’d return, only that he had gone for “communion in the sacred valley.” Great. Just perfect.

I had two options:...