ARIA

“Have we met before?”

The question hung in the air between us, heavy and dangerous.

For a split second, the sounds of the ballroom—the clinking glasses, the polite laughter, the string quartet—faded into a dull roar. The only thing I could hear was the blood rushing in my ears.

My heart slammed against my ribs. I looked into Mark’s eyes, searching for a sign that he actually saw me. That he saw Elara Vance, the woman he had pledged his life to. That he saw the ghost of the girl he murdered.

He knows.

The thought screamed in my mind, cold and sharp. The surgery wasn’t enough. He sees...