SERAPHINA'S POV
I returned to my room, chest tight in a way I refused to name. I didn't know what angered me more, that Ivy had tried to run without a single thought of me, or that Lucas's cold fury had cut so deep. Either way, the feeling had no right to linger.
By the fourth night the full moon would rise. I had promised my mother news. Real news. I needed to focus on that. On finding a cleaner way to end Ivy. If Lucas cut off my access to her, everything would become far more difficult.
I sat by the window and whispered the name before I could stop myself.
"Ivy… You need to be dead. Because if I don't kill you, then—"
The door opened. Lucas stepped in cutting me off.
I flinched, then forced my usual smile and rose to meet him, fingers already reaching for his tie.
"Darling," I said softly.
"You were supposed to be in charge of her, Seraphina!" His voice cracked like a whip. "Instead you loosened her ropes."
My chest squeezed, but the smile stayed.
