جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 83

Desiree’s POV I am walking toward the library, my mind still full of silver stars and pink silk, when a shadow moves near the arched doorway ahead.I stop. My skin pricks with a familiar, sharp warning. “You always did have a taste for the ruins, Desiree.”The smooth voices come in, sliding through the quietness. I had told Gillian earlier that I am going down a library road they just opened. L Lucius steps out from a corridor, leaning against a pillar with an effortless grace that mirrors his brother's, yet feels entirely different. Where Gillian is a thunderstorm, Lucius is a poisoned well…still, deep, and deadly.This is the first time I have seen him since I ran away. The last time we spoke, he was looking at me like a puzzle he couldn't wait to break.“And you always did have a taste for lurking in the dark, Lucius,” I say, without giving him the satisfaction of seeing my heart race.He chuckles and walks toward me. He stops just outside my personal space, his eyes scanning my

Desiree’s POV For the actual first time I returned to these Stone walls, everywhere didn't feel suffocating but just light and warmth. I stand on the edge of the small ballroom, my hands smoothing over the front of my pale cream dress. The room is a sea of bright pink ribbons. They are everywhere…looped over the chandeliers, draped across the buffet tables, and tied in soft, beautiful bows around the pillars. And the stars... seventy silver stars hang from the ceiling on thin threads, spinning slowly in the draft. They catch the candlelight, throwing tiny diamonds of light across the floor.It is beautiful. It is simple. In a world of blood oaths and ancient wars, we are standing in a room full of cake and music.“Desiree! Look!”Macy skids across the floor toward me. She is a whirlwind of pink silk and tangled curls. Her face is smudged with white frosting, and her eyes are brighter than the silver hanging above us. She holds up a small, wolf—a gift from Kael—and beams at me, her