Elara’s POV
Helena’s voice rang out sharp and angry. "You!"
I didn’t waste breath on pleasantries. "Move."
In a flash, I closed the distance between us, my blade finding its ho against her throat before she could blink. "Try if you’re feeling suicidal."
"I am your mother."
"News to . You lost that privilege a long ti ago."
The steel bit into her skin, ice crystals forming where tal t flesh. She trembled, the cold finally breaking through whatever delusion she’d been nursing. This wasn’t the helpless girl she rembered.
Her eyes held that familiar bitter resentnt. I could see in her eyes she was thinking about the talent flowing through my veins, unable to comprehend why I refused to accept her.
"Elara, please. I’m begging you for just one chance," she pleaded.
I let out a harsh laugh. "Not happening. Consider yourself lucky I’m even acknowledging your existence today. Stay in your lane, Helena. Don’t make remind you again."
My boot connected with her ribs, sending her sprawling as I slipped out the door.
Her pained cry echoed behind , but I didn’t look back. She’d drag herself up, stare at my retreating form with that sa poisonous look. Always scheming. I knew she believed that since the Sterling bloodline ran through , I would eventually have to return to them.
I shook off thoughts of Helena the mont I hit the street, my mind already shifting to the jewelry district and the credits burning a hole in my pocket.
Seven simple bands adorned my fingers, stacked in pairs that caught the light. My husbands spoiled rotten with beautiful things—ti to return the favor.
I selected seven matching rings for them, mirror images of my own. Wedding bands that would mark them as mine. Then ca the personal touches: earrings, chains, and cufflinks chosen with each man’s taste in mind. Most of them had a weakness for cufflinks, so I grabbed multiple sets.
My final stop was Bound and Unbound, where I picked up their signature lace blindfolds.
Seven of those too, naturally.
The usual routine played out—I browsed and bought while Trevor’s people handled the real bill sowhere behind the scenes.
Silas trailed at a respectful distance, his gaze soft with devotion. He maintained his position like a professional, but the mont I glanced away, the world shifted.
One second I was walking, the next I was pressed into darkness. "What the hell?"
Sothing soft and warm wrapped around in the tight space. "Elara, it’s ."
That voice sent recognition flooding through . Finnian?
"Fox?" I asked.
"Yeah," ca his muffled response.
He must have spotted Silas getting too close. His body molded against mine as he worked quickly, slipping sothing from around my neck—the rabbit pendant—and sohow transferring it to a passing security drone. The movent was so smooth I barely felt it.
The closet left no room to breathe, his warmth surrounding completely.
"What are you doing here? Finished with your fight already?" I blinked, taking in our makeshift hideout.
He nodded against my hair. "We did."
His eyes held secrets when he looked down at . The real answer—that he’d been tracking the bracelet he’d given —would have to wait.
"I told you to wait at ho," I reminded him.
His lower lip jutted out in that way that made my chest tight. "You weren’t there when I got back. Alistair ntioned you were making deliveries, but... I couldn’t stand not seeing you, Elara."
He buried his face in my neck, breathing in. The small space forced our bodies together, heat building between us with each shared breath.
"I was buying gifts for everyone," I managed, my voice catching slightly.
This proximity was dangerous. Too close, too intimate.
"Including ?" The question held an edge I couldn’t quite place.
Was he serious? Of course he was included.
The thin air made my thoughts fuzzy, his aning lost on completely.
"Obviously," I said.
His voice dropped to barely a whisper against my ear. "Then thank you, my lady."
"Don’t ntion it." Sothing felt off now, and I tried to create distance—but he was immovable.
If anything, he pressed closer.
"Don’t you want near you?" he asked.
Heat crept up my neck. "You’re too close. I can feel sothing... pressing against ."
His expression shifted, sothing predatory flickering in his eyes. His hands found my wrists, pinning them as he stepped forward until my back hit the wall. He stared down at , his throat working as he swallowed hard.
My brain finally caught up with the situation, every nerve ending suddenly alive and aware.
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