Feelin’ spoileryyyyyy 🤠

✨Poe✨ Blocker of Screens. Beggar of Attention. Queen of Drama.

She looked down at the address again. It was strange. Trusting someone she barely knew. But then again... she'd trusted the wrong people before because they made her feel safe. Maybe this time she could learn to recognize the difference.

“Proof ya still know how to laugh. This would fuckin’ suck otherwise.” The words caught her off guard, but before she could respond, he continued. “Come over. We'll figure out a lesson plan, see where you're at, and go from there.”

“It is,” he said without hesitation. “But I'm usually right.” A laugh slipped out before she could stop it. Malakai smiled through the phone. “There it is.” “....What?”

“No,” he replied easily. “I'm just very good at readin’ people.” She rolled her eyes. “Sounds incredibly arrogant.”

She heard the faint sound of typing on the other end. A second later, her phone buzzed. “Just sent you my address.” Kassandra glanced down at the message. “You did?” “Yep.” “You're awfully trusting.”

Kassandra raised an eyebrow. “𝑆𝑡𝑢𝑝𝑖𝑑?” “Don't act offended. You called me out of nowhere, askin’ for help with a problem you refuse to explain.” A small smile tugged at her lips. “Fair.” “Mhm, thought so.”

A quiet hum came through the phone. “Alright,” Malakai said. “If you're serious about this, we should probably figure out what exactly you're tryin’ to accomplish before you throw yourself into somethin’ stupid.”

“I want to stop fighting like I'm surviving,” she said quietly. “I want to learn how to fight like I intend to win.” A beat passed. Then his voice softened, and she could hear the smirk in his voice. “Now 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 I can help with.”

“Somethin’ that might get you killed?” She didn't answer. Malakai sighed softly. “Alright. So definitely dangerous.”

“I have something I need to do, but I know I'm not ready,” she finally admitted. “Somethin’ dangerous?” “..........................Yes.”

Not because she trusted him completely. Not yet. But because when she'd been around him, she hadn't felt like a broken thing he needed to fix. She'd just felt like Kassandra.

“Good thing I’m good at figurin’ things out.” She huffed a quiet laugh. “You always this confident?” “Only when I have no idea what I'm doing.” That actually made her smile; maybe that was why she'd called him.

“I need help.” The teasing faded slightly, but not completely. “Sounds serious.” “It is.” A pause. “I.. don't know exactly what I'm asking for.”

Despite herself, the corner of her mouth twitched. “Something like that.” “What do you need, Kass?” The use of her name caught her off guard. Not because it was intimate, but because it was comfortable. Easy. She wasn't used to easy anymore.

She cringed. “Yeah... sorry about that.” A low laugh rolled through the phone. “Relax. I'm fuckin' with you.” His voice carried that same easy amusement she remembered from the auction. “Though I gotta admit, I was startin' to think you'd decided I was too charming to handle.”

With a quiet sigh, she backed out of his contact list and selected another name. The call barely had time to ring once. “Been hopin' you'd call,” came the familiar smoky drawl. “Especially after ya ditched me at the auction.”

She left an awkward voicemail, followed by an even more awkward text. 𝐻𝑒𝑦. 𝐼𝑡'𝑠 𝐾𝑎𝑠𝑠. 𝐼 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑖𝑡'𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑎 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑒. 𝐼... 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑝. 𝐶𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑚𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑐𝑎𝑛. It wasn't enough, but it was all she had.

The phone rang. Once. Twice. Three times. Then the line went dead. Kassandra frowned at the screen. Strange. Still, she couldn't expect Issac to drop everything for her. It had been over a year since they'd last spoken despite how much he had reached out.

She wasn't ready to face that—not yet. She didn't even know if it 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 be undone. One impossible thing at a time. For now, Issac was her best chance at finding Davien's uncle.

Even now, Jaclynn had no idea why they'd stopped speaking. Compulsion had simply erased Kassandra from her memories, replacing years of friendship with... nothing. The thought left a bitter taste in her mouth.

She had all but abandoned him after Davien's death. Some best friend she'd turned out to be. She'd shut him out, pushed him away, and driven Jaclynn off for doing nothing more than trying to help her. Kian had encouraged the isolation, but she'd been the one to let it happen.

Her thumb hovered over Issac's contact, hesitating before she finally swallowed her pride and pressed 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥.

My cowriter for the day 🤍

The realization settled over her with unnerving clarity. Kian was dead. That chapeter had ended, but the story wasn't. Not until the man who had stolen Davien from her answered for it.

She had wasted years with a man who manipulated her after the fact, while the one who had started it all continued on as though Davien's life had been worth nothing.

Kian hadn't created her grief, he had found it raw and bleeding, then shaped it into a weapon that served him. Her grip tightened until the edges of the box dug into her palm.

He was the one responsible for Davien's death. He was the one who had stolen the future held inside this little velvet box.

Kian had kept her so consumed with surviving him that she'd stopped looking backward. Stopped asking who had set all of this in motion. Davien's uncle had.