เข้าสู่ระบบTomi knelt in the center of the courtyard and pulled the cloth pouch from her pocket.The grass was damp. She didn't bother spreading anything underneath; the earth didn't care about comfort. She opened the pouch and let the dried herbs spill into her palm. Sage. Bitter leaf. Things her grandmother had taught her to recognize by smell alone, before teaching her what to do with them.She arranged them in a pattern on the ground. Not a circle. A spiral that turned inward, tightening toward a center point she marked with her thumb pressed into the soil. The markings weren't decorative. They were directions. A map for the magic to follow.Her hands moved through the motions she'd practiced hundreds of times. The words came next, spoken low enough that only the earth could hear them. Not English. Not the careful, clipped language of the spells Asterveil's instructors drilled into students during the day. These words had rough edges. They felt older in her mouth.She completed the first spi
6:50pm. I was still in my room, standing in front of the mirror in a dress that was definitely too much for a birthday party and absolutely perfect for what I needed to do tonight.The goal was simple: look hot enough that nobody would question why I showed up with my stepbrother. Make it seem intentional. Make it seem like I had my shit together.I was touching up my lipstick when I heard a knock on my door."Helen? We should probably leave soon if we want to—"I opened the door before he could finish, and there was Kelvin. Just standing there in casual jeans and a white fitted t-shirt that made his chest look like something out of an ad I definitely should not be noticing.Fuck. "Are you ready?" he asked, and there was something different about him. Not the usual apologetic energy. More like he was actually expecting me to be done."Yeah, let's go."He drove. Of course he did. And he opened the car door for me like we were in some romantic comedy, which immediately made me suspiciou
❈ ❈ Mila Pov ❈ ❈My apartment felt different now or maybe I felt different in it. Everything was the same. Same furniture, same paint on the walls, same view of the city from my window but it all felt smaller somehow. Like I had shrunk back into my old life and it didn't fit anymore.I was making tea when Riley texted that she was on her way over.Riley: bringing snacks. I have so much to tell you.Me: bet betWhen she got there, she looked different too. Her hair was longer. She'd dyed it darker. She had this glow that I recognized from before, the look of someone who was getting fucked real good and thinking about it constantly."Okay bitch," she said, flopping onto my couch like she owned it. "First of all, are you actually okay? Like I want you to be real with me."I handed her a mug of tea and sat down next to her."No cap?" I said."No cap," she confirmed."I miss y'all," I said. "Like, every single day. I wake up and for like two seconds I forget we're not together anymore a
✦ ❦ ✦ Helen POV ✦ ❦ ✦The moment I hear him, I already want to leave the living room."Hey, can you stop flexing your chest all around the house? It's fucking disgusting," I say, not looking up from my phone. "I'm sure you think you look cool, but sorry—you just look ridiculous."I throw it out there like it means nothing. But honestly, I have been acutely aware of him standing in that doorway for the last five seconds.Kelvin just stands there, sweat dripping down his temple, and his expression didn't change. That's the thing I really hate about him—nothing ever changes. No anger, no defensiveness, just this soft, understanding look that makes me want to hit something."I'm sorry, Helen. I never meant to bother you."His voice is low. Apologetic. Genuine. He's nothing but a sweet soul. That's literally the problem.Yeah, he's got the muscles that make you forget how to think for a second. Yeah, his face shouldn't be allowed to exist in the same space as the rest of us because it's un
Morena was alone in the guest room.The late afternoon light came in soft through the half-closed curtains, painting gold stripes across the bed. She sat on the edge of the mattress with her legs crossed, phone resting loosely in her hands. Her hair was down. She looked almost peaceful.I floated just inside the doorway and watched her.She smiled to herself — a small, private smile that didn’t belong on the face of someone who had just left her sister dying in a hospital bed. Then she spoke into the quiet room like someone was listening.“Almost there,” she whispered. “Just a little longer, Evie. You’ve always been so patient.”The way she said my childhood nickname made something cold slide down my spine.She unlocked her phone with her thumb and opened the notes app. The screen lit up her face from below. I drifted closer until I was standing right behind her, close enough that if I still had breath it would have moved the hair on the back of her neck.The first note was dated almo
CHAPTER 1All I could see was darkness. Life after death was never like what I had ever imagined. I always believed there is heaven and he'll.Not the kind you close your eyes to. The kind that *is* — thick, heavy, like I'm underwater but there's no water. Just pressure. Against my chest. Against my thoughts.Life after death was never supposed to be like this.My whole life, I preached about heaven and hell. Heaven for the good people. Hell for the bad ones. Simple. Clean. Binary. I'd stand there talking about it like I had the blueprint memorized — like I'd read the manual.Dying? That wasn't in my manual.Dying *now*, at thirty-six, after everything I'd sacrificed, after everything I'd built?Fuck that.I walk toward the light because I don't know what else to do. My feet don't really move — it's more like I'm *drawn* — and I immediately regret it. The light doesn't feel like salvation. It feels like exposure. Like stepping out of a room where I was invisible and suddenly everyone
The Grand Kingsland Hotel ballroom glittered like a den of wolves wearing diamonds. Crystal chandeliers cast golden light over hundreds of the city’s elite — businessmen, politicians, socialites — all circling each other with fake smiles and real knives. Selena stayed close to Matthew’s side, pai
Selena had been in the mansion for two days when Victoria showed up. She was in the library, going through design books—mostly to keep her mind occupied—when Margaret came in with an apologetic expression. "Miss Victoria is here to see Mr. Kingland," Margaret said carefully. Selena looked up from
The mansion gardens had been transformed without becoming unrecognizable.Simple white flowers hung from strings between trees. Chairs arranged in two sections facing a stone arch. No stage, no grand performance space. Just a place where two people could stand and say things they actually meant.Se
Selena didn't sleep. She lay in the dark listening to the mansion settle—pipes shifting, the distant hum of the AC, the weight of what happened on the terrace pressing down on her like something physical. Every time she closed her eyes, she felt it: the heat of his mouth on hers. The way he'd tilted







