Belladonna clicks her tongue, but doesn’t answer before looking away.
I puff out a cold laugh. “Don’t tell me … Belladonna’s made a friend?”
Her gaze snaps back to mine, and she sneers.
Mercy clears her throat, most likely to try to break the tension. She stares me down, her face as blank as an untouched canvas. “You can’t be this clueless,” she says.
Guilt pangs against my ribs, twisting my stomach, but I pretend not to be affected. “Whatever do you mean, my dear Cee-Cee?”
She tilts her head, dark hair tumbling off her shoulders, narrowing her eyes. “Tell me, why jeopardize the one thing you claim is your destiny?”
“Jeopardize?” I scoff in disbelief. Finishing off the scotch, I settle my drink on the glass coffee table in front of me. “Who said anything about jeopardizing my destiny?”
“Veil,” Belladonna answers.
My heart drops, and I suddenly wonder what kind of conversations they’ve been having behind my back.
“She’s mine,” I hiss.
“Please,” Mercy volleys back, crossing her arms. “You, of all people, should know that you cannotowna servant of the gods. You’re living in a selfish fantasy.”
I spring up, my chest rising quickly with anger.
“Let me see her,” I demand, “before you pollute her head further with more of your silly notions.”
“No need to pollute her head when your actions have already done exactly that,” Belladonna says.
A sudden and overwhelming fear grips my lungs, and I forget how to breathe.
Did I push her too far?
The room falls silent, ripe with simmering hostility.
Slowly walking up to the windows, I peer out into the inky harbor, the stars twinkling on the surface of the water. I find my reflection staring back at me, and I yearn to see Veil’s reflection beside mine.
I turn back to face Mercy and Belladonna.
“And what about the others? Do they think the same?”
There’s a flash of pity in Mercy’s green eyes as she slowly nods, and my anger flips on its axis, now directed at me.
Two days later,I find myself standing at the entrance of Belladonna’s condo building, trying to smooth-talk the two guards manning the door. Luckily, since my name isstillGemini Foley, it doesn’t take much effort for them to agree to let me pass.
I run the risk of running into Belladonna, but I’m much too impatient to wait for Veil to come to her senses. The silent treatment has gone on for long enough. I need to see her. I need to talk to her.
I’ve never visited Belladonna’s condo before, but it doesn’t take long for me to figure out the layout, and after a few wrong turns, I find Veil curled up in a reading chair in what looks like the library. It’s mid-afternoon, but the pouring rain has darkened the skies, cloaking Pravitia and this room under a moody gray light.
“My beloved,” I sigh with relief when I finally see her.
I step into the library without any invitation, but my heart cracks when a look of alarm splashes across Veil’s face.
“Gemini,” she says, her book dropping to her lap.
This time, the tone of fear in her voice isn't welcome, and I yearn to pluck the sound directly off of her vocal cords.
I fall to my knees in front of her chair, reaching for her hands, but she evades me, crossing her arms, so I rest them on her bare knee instead.
“Forgive me,” I say breathlessly, my gaze imploring her to hear me, hear the ache.
