Chapter 3

The moment Kael and Orion showed up, Lilith peeked out from behind Zephyr, then slipped free from his grip and trotted over to me.

"Aurora, please don't be mad at them," she said, reaching out to tug at my sleeve. "They're just so protective of me. They didn't mean to hurt you."

I didn't want to keep tangling with any of them. I turned to leave. But for some reason, Lilith wouldn't let me go—she clung to me, practically begging me to stay. I tried to shake her off, just a quick, impatient flick of my arm.

I didn't expect her to lose her balance like that. One second she was holding on, the next she let out this sharp little shriek and went flying backward, landing hard on the ground. I reached out to catch her—missed—and her nails raked across the back of my hand, leaving a long, bloody gash.

All three of them rushed over at once.

Kael scooped Lilith up and cradled her against his chest, murmuring soft reassurances. Orion dropped to his knees, frantically checking her arms for any bruise or scrape.

Zephyr, though, stormed straight at me, his face twisted with rage. "Aurora, are you out of your mind?! Lilith was trying to help you, and you shoved her? What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Kael's eyes burned cold as he glared at me. "You've changed, Aurora. This is straight-up cruel."

Orion's voice came out flat and icy. "So because we won't bond with you, you take it out on Lilith? Aurora, don't burn through the last bit of goodwill we have left."

Lilith sobbed softly against Kael's chest. "Don't blame Aurora... I just lost my footing."

But the more she said that, the more disgust dripped from their stares.

I held up the back of my hand. Nail marks. Blood. Clear as day.

"If you don't need your eyes, donate them to someone who does. I didn't push her."

Zephyr glanced at my hand—then looked away like it didn't matter. "Lilith fell, and you still won't own up to it? Aurora, enough with the act!"

Kael lifted Lilith higher in his arms and leveled a command at me: "Apologize. Now."

She tripped and fell, and they lost their minds. My hand was bleeding, and not one of them even offered a bandage. They all just assumed I'd done it on purpose.

Shouldn't I be the one standing in the middle of this mess?

Where were the three boys who'd sworn as kids to protect me, just to make me smile? Zephyr only studied healing because I was the clumsy one who kept getting hurt—wasn't that the whole point?

Everything had changed.

I looked at each of them, long and hard. Then I smoothed down my sleeve, gave them a flat "Dream on," and turned my back on them.

Orion's voice chased after me like a blade: "Aurora, if you ever hurt Lilith again, we won't let it slide."

I didn't even bother glancing back. Three idiots weren't worth my time.

Two evenings later, my father sent me to the cabin at the edge of the Forbidden Grounds to pick up an important document.

When I got there, I found Kael, Orion, and Zephyr already waiting.

We all stared at each other. It didn't take long to figure out—our parents had set this whole thing up.