Page 7 of The Last De Loughrey Dynasty

“Lessy,” I whispered, recalling the name Christopher had called me.

I turned my head, searching for the white roses and ribbons that had decorated the balcony railing, not just that, but the entire tree too. It was all gone, or it had never been there at all.

“Is it a good idea to let her step onto that balcony again?” a girl’s voice asked. I didn’t recognise it, but it quickly gained my attention. My head was clearing from the fog that had settled there, and I counted four strangers in the room.

I recognised the boy standing next to Maisie as the one who had pleaded with her not to go with me. The way he was gently tracing circles on the palm of her hand made it obvious the two of them had a deeper connection than mere friendship.

Then there was the boy I had just been lying on and another girl who was glaring at me with thinly veiled judgement.

“Naomi, stop,” Maisie’s companion muttered a second later.

The Asian girl, Naomi, turned to him, her black, silky hair slipping out from where it had been neatly tucked into her cobalt blazer.

“I’m just concerned, as the new girl appeared to be on the brink of suicide before anyone even had the chance to meet her.” Her voice betrayed no concern whatsoever.

“I wasn’t going to jump. I was just dream-walking.” The words sounded even more pathetic aloud than they had in my head.

And here we were again, heading down the lying road.

The thing is, I wasn’t lying.

I wasn’t going to jump. Lessy did.

I exhaled shakily, fear rising in my chest. This was supposed to be a fresh start. I couldn’t ruin it all again on the very first day. “I swear, I wasn’t conscious when I stepped onto that railing. Please don’t tell anyone. I didn’t mean to do that—”

“Stop begging. None of us will tell,” the nameless boy who had apparently saved my life interrupted.

I stared at him for a moment, trying to get a read on him to quiet the panic surging through me. But I couldn’t. His face was completely devoid of any emotion, though there was something dark in his eyes.

“I imagined her sounding more philosophical,” a new voice chimed in.

In the doorway stood a brunette boy whose glasses were almost entirely slipping down the bridge of his nose. He was heaving, as though he had just run a marathon.

“Jesse,” the nameless boy said in warning, without even looking back.

“My apologies. I’ll keep my mouth shut,” Jesse replied, still out of breath as he bent over, clutching the doorframe for support. Sweat gleaming on his golden skin.

“You should work on your stamina, Jesper,” Naomi mused before turning her attention back to me. I could feel my entire body itch under the weight of so many gazes.

“Someone had to catch her,” Jesse defended himself, but Naomi wasn’t listening anymore.

“You’re lucky we saw you standing on that railing like a statue from the backyard. If Archer hadn’t got there in time, you’d be dead now.” Naomi made sure to put enough weight on the worddeadto make her point. “The least you could do is say thank you,” she added, pursing her lips.

I disliked her tone, but she was right. He had saved my life, and even though I wasn’t entirely sure it had been the right decision, he definitely deserved my gratitude.

I looked at the boy—Archer.His name suited him.

“Thank—”

But he cut me off. “Naomi enjoys using people as entertainment when they’re vulnerable. You have nothing to thank me for.”

His eyes hadn’t left mine since I had gotten off him. I wondered if he’d been watching me even before that.

“Do you know what umbra means?” Archer suddenly asked, and from the corner of my eye, I saw Maisie’s eyes widen.

“What?” I didn’t understand what he was trying to say or why he’d changed the subject so suddenly.

“Do you know what the word means?” he repeated, narrowing his gaze as he took a step closer.

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