𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐞
The blood wouldn't come off.
I scrubbed harder, the water scalding my hands until they turned red, but the rust-brown stains under my fingernails refused to budge. My mother's blood. The metallic scent mixed with the harsh hospital soap, making my stomach lurch with every movement.
I gripped the edge of the sink as the memories slammed into me—the screech of tires, Mom's hand on my back shoving me to safety, and the sickening thud of impact. I could still hear the crunch of breaking bones.
My vision blurred. The bathroom spun.
I retched, lurching forward as bile burned up my throat, but nothing came up but sobs—violent, body-racking things I tried to muffle with my wet hands. It should have been me on that stretcher, especially after what I'd discovered tonight. Right after blowing out the candles on my eighteenth birthday cake—the first one they'd ever given me—I'd found the truth.
I should have known there'd be a catch. The reality was more monstrous than anything I could have imagined, explaining why they despised me, why I was the stain that wouldn't fade, the shadow beside their golden children.
A hand fisted in my hair and yanked.
My head snapped back with brutal force, my scalp screaming as I was dragged backward across the tile. I spun, my vision swimming through tears, only to find myself staring into Ryder's face. He loomed over me, anger pulsing off him in waves. I could read him perfectly—the flared nostrils, the veins thrumming in his neck, and brows drawn so low they nearly kissed his lashes.
"You think hiding in here will save you?" he growled.
The bathroom door slammed shut. I looked past him to see them filing in—Aunt Agatha, Ivy, and the others. Their faces twisted with loathing as they formed a physical wall between me and the exit.
The lock clicked—a cold, metallic sound that echoed like a death sentence.
"Look at her," Aunt Agatha hissed, pointing a trembling finger at me. "Scrubbing her hands like Lady Macbeth. As if washing away the blood will erase what she's done."
Ryder's grip tightened before he shoved me forward. I stumbled, catching myself on the edge of the sink as he snarled, "You finally did it. You finally achieved your mission, you parasite. You took her from us."
My scalp stung and my tongue felt too heavy to defend myself. Agatha stepped closer, her perfume cloying and overpowering in the small space.
"She failed the first time," she continued, "but she had to try again. I was right about you from the beginning. You're a curse, the bane of this family, a disease."
"Yet you dare to wonder why we wish you would die," Ivy's voice cut through, sharper and crueler than the rest.
I opened my mouth to explain, but Ivy stepped forward and shoved me. It wasn't hard enough to knock me down, just enough to jar me, to remind me how vulnerable I was. My back hit the wall and I gasped.
"Oh, she's going to speak now?" Ivy mocked, her amber eyes gleaming. "The little victim wants to defend herself?"
She shoved me again. Then again.
"What are you going to say, Selene? That it was an accident? That you didn't mean it?"
My head spun with each impact, my body jarring against the tile as her voice rose into a vicious taunt.
"That poor Mommy just happened to push you out of the way? That the car just happened to hit her instead? How convenient that she's the one dying—and you get to play the tragic hero!"
She shoved me one last time with all her strength. My head slammed against the wall with a sickening crack.
Pain exploded through my skull. The world tilted violently and my lungs locked up, refusing to pull in air as I slid down the wall. I couldn't breathe. My chest heaved uselessly, panic clawing at my throat while my hands scrabbled at my neck as if I could manually force air into my lungs.
A sound bubbled up from somewhere broken inside me—half sob, half hysterical laughter. It sounded foreign. Wrong.
BANG.
The bathroom door exploded inward, the lock shattering as the frame splintered.
Atlas.
He took in the scene in an instant—me crumpled on the floor, Ivy standing over me, and the others crowding the small space.
"Get away from her." His voice was deadly calm, more terrifying than any shout.
"This doesn't concern you—" Ryder started, but Atlas's hand shot out. He grabbed my brother by the collar and slammed him against the wall so hard the mirror cracked.
"I said. Get. Away."
Atlas released him and knelt beside me, his warm hands cupping my face gently. "Breathe with me, Selene. In through your nose. Out through your mouth. Come on."
I followed his lead, my chest stuttering as I forced air back into my lungs.
"That's it. You're okay. I've got you."
He helped me to my feet, his arm wrapped protectively around my waist as he turned to face them. "You're all fucking animals," he said, his voice dripping with disdain. "And if any of you touch her again, I'll make sure you regret it."
"She murdered our mother!" Ivy screamed.
"Shut your mouth," Atlas snapped, "or I'll shut it for you."
Hospital security appeared in the broken doorway, demanding to know what was happening. Atlas didn't give them a chance to interfere. "We're leaving," he said, guiding me out into the hallway.
My legs shook and the fluorescent lights were too bright, making my head throb. I glanced back at the closed room where they were trying to save Mom, my chest tightening with guilt.
"I can't leave her," I rasped. "If she dies and I'm not here—"
"She won't," Atlas said firmly, his hand tightening on mine. "Willow is too strong. And you need a minute away from them."
I searched his face for the fear that filled mine, but found only steady certainty. He pulled a small box from his pocket, and my heart stuttered. Not now. Not here.
"I'm so sorry I couldn't make it to your party, Selene," he said, his voice trembling slightly as he dropped to one knee. "I got you your birthday present."
"Atlas..." I breathed, unable to process the ring catching the harsh hospital light.
"Selene Jameson, be mine to protect."
I blinked at him. This was the boy who'd made me laugh when no one else remembered my birthday, the man I'd given a part of my liver to, the one who'd always been my shield. I loved him so much it hurt, but all I could think was: Why now?
"I know it's insane," he said gently. "But this is a promise ring. I made it for today, because I know they'll kick you out as soon as they can."
"You made this?"
He smiled, a genuine flash of warmth. "Yeah. Melted my grandma's old pendant. She gave me the gem for it. I want you to look at this and know you're never alone."
I crumpled, but before I could fall, his arms wrapped around me. He slipped the ring onto my finger and whispered, "Happy birthday, Selene," before kissing my forehead.
A few nurses at the station clapped softly, and a patient's family member joined in. I managed a weak smile, leaning into Atlas's strength.
Then, movement flickered in my peripheral vision.
Ivy burst from the bathroom, her face a mask of pure rage. She'd snatched a mop from a nearby janitor's cart and was wielding it like a club as she lunged at us.
"You don't deserve happiness!" she screamed, swinging the handle toward my head.
Instinct kicked in. My body moved before I could think. I feigned left, and as the mop whooshed past my face, my hand shot out and grabbed the handle, yanking hard.
Ivy, with all her momentum behind her, couldn't stop. She stumbled forward, her feet tangling until she crashed directly into the janitor's bucket. The dirty water exploded over her as she landed with a wet splash, her legs kicking uselessly in the air.
The nurses gasped, then someone snickered.
Atlas stared at me, his eyes wide with shock. I stared at my own hands, equally stunned. How had I moved that fast? How had I known exactly where to grab?
"Real mature," Atlas muttered to Ivy, though there was a hint of amusement in his voice. He took my hand to check for injuries, but then he froze.
The ringing in my ears intensified. My eyes focused, meeting jade green filled with surprise.
"When did you get a tattoo?" he asked, holding my wrist.
I looked down. My heart rate kicked up for the hundredth time today. On my skin was a new marking—a dark, perfect crescent moon.