STILLNESS lingered like glass about to shatter, disturbed only by the quiet crumble of debris and Mailah's shaky inhale.
Broken glass crunched under her bare feet as she took an unconscious step backward, her mind reeling from Carson's poisonous suggestions.
Had everything been orchestrated? The timing of Lailah's death, the letter that had led her here, even her own desperate decision to take her sister's place—had any of it been real choice, or had she been dancing to invisible strings all along?
"Mailah."
Grayson's voice was careful, controlled, but she could hear the undercurrent of something raw beneath it. When she looked up at him, she found his storm-blue eyes searching her face with an intensity that made her chest tighten.
