Page 109 of Underground Prince

I chanced a small smile. “So if I’m going to start remembering her, I’d better do it right.”

“Yeah, or I’ll punch you.”

“Verily…” I shook my head. “Thank you for giving me the truth. It’s hard to see sometimes, through all the guilt.”

“Hey, that’s what my name means, after all.”

Bringing the real Cassie back to life, the one who screamed and ugly-cried and tossed hairspray canisters at me, the one who crawled into my bed when she had nightmares, so much so that she ended up staying in my room for a month when we were seven, the one who listened to my whining and bitched with me when I didn’t get the grade I wanted…the one who was there.

It was both heavy and light to think of her whole self and not simply her flawless vision. She came to me like the tendrils of a ghost, taking form in my heart, reminding me that she watched, she listened, and it was unfortunate, the way I’d allowed myself to fall.

Cassie, I destroyed myself the instant you stopped breathing. There is nothing to salvage.

Almost in answer, what replaced her image in my mind’s eye, the smoke sifting, broadening, angling its edges and glowing buttery light through the eyes…

Was Theo.

* * *

Sunlight bathed my eyelids. So strange, considering I slammed my curtains shut every night, refusing even a drop of golden tones to hit my body until I was ready to receive it. Moving onto my back, I scrubbed at my face, wincing at the insulting amount of brightness every time I tried to greet the morning.

“You spoke to Sax about Cassie?” Verily murmured beside me, tentatively, as if testing whether I was awake or not.

Squinting with one eye, I turned to look at her. We were in her bed, where I must’ve fallen asleep and she didn’t bother to wake me. It was unclear whether I could’ve been roused, since the remnants of weight, the heaviness of memory, still clung to my bones and made it hard to move or speak even now.

“Yeah,” I said, my voice thick, but the surprise came through as I remembered every minute of last night. “I actually did.”

“What brought that on?”

“Everything.” I sighed. “He’s…this unknown that I can’t help but want to figure out. Being around him, there’s this wave of commonality between us, a sense of understanding. I could tell him anything. I could confess a murder to him and he’d stick with me.”

“That’s…” Verily sat up. “Unnerving.”

I mirrored her movement. “But I can’t shake him off. The more I know about him, the more addicted I become. Seriously, I’m a lost cause. His brother threatens me with bodily harm and I’m still—”

“Say what?”

I clamped my mouth shut. Shit.

“You. And Trace. Trace. Threatening you.” Her brows grew ominously dark over her eyes. “At the gala.”

Meekly, I nodded, becoming increasingly aware of the wrinkled runway dress I’d slept in.

“You can’t let that family near you.” She shot out of bed, but only so she could thunder over me. “It was bad enough you had your eye on Sax, but this. They know who you are now. They don’t give two damns about their servers, but you’ve elevated yourself somehow. Scar, step down. Oh my God.” Her hands went to her hair and she paced around her room. “This is my fault.”

I crawled off the bed. “Don’t you dare make excuses for me. Everything up to this point has been through my decisions alone. You can’t take responsibility for my actions.”

She reeled on me. “Just like you can’t for your sister?”

I gasped and recoiled, her expression instantly collapsing.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. You’re just—you’re terrifying me. I can’t stop you from railroading your life but I’m forced to stand by and watch it happen.”

“Vare—”

“You said to me last night that no matter how much you try to rationalize it, you can’t help but feel at fault for your sister. Well, so do I. With you.” Tears crested over her eyes.

“That’s not fair.” I backed away. “You can’t throw your guilt on me when everything I do involves me alone. I’m trying to keep you out of it.”

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