After being betrayed by the ones who she cared for most, Cleo must make a decision as a war breaks out between vampires and humans-- which side she'll take in it.
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Cruel.
A word everyone had used to describe my father and his actions. A word I'd used to describe Claude when I first met him. A word to describe the slaughter of Felix's family. A word Claude used to justify his actions to protect those he loved.
A word to encompass how agonizing a betrayal could be.
I curled in on myself, wanting to fill the hollow feeling in my chest, and being unable to. My hand clenched the tattered ruins of my bloody dress above my breast, my knuckles pressing hard into my skin, sure to leave bruises. The intangible pain wouldn't go away. It left me breathless, nauseous, my body trembling. Physical pain was nothing compared to this. I would take a hundred daggers through the heart over this. It hurt so much.
The awful scenes kept repeating in my mind. Kaz and the gun. My father falling. Kieran's cold gaze. Claude's betrayal.
After being arrested by Claude, I'd been taken away by Nadir—dragged from my father's body, from those who I thought were my friends, from the academy. I didn't even try to fight back. I'd been too confused, too horrified, too traumatized. Nadir didn't speak to me the entire time. Even when we arrived at the estate I was currently confined in, he'd simply brought me into this room and then locked the door behind him on the way out, leaving me alone to reel in the disquieting aftermath of everything with no explanations for anything.
Cruel—a word I would use from now on to describe how life treated those who lived.
Maybe I should have noticed the signs. I had blown all the warnings off, having had complete trust in everyone. So how could they...
I dug my knuckles harder into my sternum, the pain there still duller than the pain of my heart. My head hung down, my tangled hair falling in my face.
A figure suddenly crouched down in front of me, their hands wrapping around my wrists, pulling my own hands away from my body. I tried to break free, struggling against their grip, but my body was too weak, fatigue coming up on me quickly.
"Cleo, stop it."
At the sound of Kaz's voice, I froze, looking up as tears gathered in my eyes for the thousandth time. "Kaz."
I didn't know how much time had passed since the ball. A day? A few days? A couple weeks? Either way, I hadn't seen anyone but Nadir since then. And Nadir only stayed long enough to bring me food, treat my wounds, and perhaps check in to make sure I was still alive in between. He never answered any of my questions, never interacted with me more than he had to.
Seeing Kaz made my mind go to war against itself. Part of me wanted to hug him, to be held in his arms and be comforted, but the other part of me forced me to remember what he'd done, sending cold blood through my veins. He'd killed my father. He'd lied to me.
I didn't know what to think of Kaz anymore, and that hurt, too. But he was still a familiar face in this lonely room. He could have answers to my questions.
