Chapter 12
Chapter
Twelve
C old air breathes down my spine, and I shiver, moving away from the edge of my bed. I go to try to pull the blanket over me, but it’s trapped under Finnegan’s massive leg, who is lying straight out on my bed as I curl around him in the little space I have, and I love it. I’ve never slept as well as I do with Finnegan in my bed. It’s nice to have the room alone even if we can’t actually do anything in this bed. Annie is staying at a holiday home and getting our dresses made for the party tonight, and I’m actually excited to cause a little trouble for Alpha Dickhead.
There’s a soft thud that makes me go still and shoot my eyes open. I don’t dare say a word out loud because there is someone in my room, and I have a feeling they crept in through the window. “Finnegan!” I shout in my mind, hoping he wakes up and hears me.
I gasp as it gets hard to breathe, as the air is suctioned from the room, and I claw at my throat. My eyes widen as I see the man, his hand outstretched. I can’t breathe. Finnegan wakes with a roar, and he charges over me, grabbing the man around the throat and flinging him across the room, where he slams into the wall with a thud. “I fucking hate air magic dickheads!” He kicks the man as I pull a dressing gown over myself and tie it up. Finnegan climbs back onto the bed and sits against the wall.
“Wrong move.” He chucks me my Nex dagger, and I catch it, raising an eyebrow. The man is climbing to his feet off Annie’s bed and wheezing. “This one is yours, Nexus. Watching you kill is foreplay to me.”
My Nexus is delighted, and I sigh. The man reaches for me and I twist at the last second, slamming my dagger down the side of his neck, and he screams. I let my Nexus take over, shifting as we move, black nails spreading out. She doesn’t let the grey magic drain anything; instead, she snarls at the man. His hood has fallen back. He is pale and blond and so dead. I let her free. I never let her murder or go on a rampage because I’ve been slightly horrified about what she does, even now as I watch her rip this man apart, tearing his head off his shoulders, his arms next, and digging her nails into his chest to rip out his heart. She throws it out the window before throwing the rest of his body out after him.
Someone screams in horror outside, and she closes the window, laughing before letting me back. Finnegan is watching, his mouth slightly parted, his head cocked to the side. “Glorious. You really are gorgeous in every form, Sun.” He watches me. “There is nothing wrong with killing those who deserve it. He would have killed us both without an ounce of guilt.” I know he is right, but it’s still hard to accept. “You’re learning to control your Nexus better now. Maybe these assassins are actually of some good?”
Except people are hiring assassins that Finnegan doesn’t know to attack me because they think I made the Mortal God kill all those people in the trial. They hate me and they are judging me, and I don’t know what to think about it. “It’s one way to learn to coexist better.”
“Maybe we should leave the next one alive for like five minutes so I can question him.” He looks at the blood. “I’ve been in charge of the Nexus assassin guild for three years now. We fight our way to the top, and no one has beaten me. Ever. None of the men here are from the guild because they know touching you isn’t worth any sort of money because of what would happen when I got my hands on them.”
“Who do you think they are, then?” I question while thinking about what he just told me. There is an assassin guild? I always assumed Finnegan was the only one, not the top one.
“I’ll find out.” He climbs off the bed. “I’ll call for the cleaners to sort this out and the body. You need to get in the shower so I can tell them it was me.”
“It’s a shame you can’t join me in the shower,” I murmur.
“I really fucking hate this academy and its rules,” he grumbles, moving closer. He stops in front of me, running his hand down my throat to grip it. I like when he does this. “Meet me on the roof, Sun. I need to taste you.”
I laugh, leaning in as I walk past. “Maybe it’s fair I taste you this time.”
His groan follows me into the bathroom, and I smile for the rest of the night.
“I’m still going to be really surprised if they let us through the door,” I mutter. If they don’t, every plan we have thought out is going up in smoke.
Annie is far more confident than me, but this is her world. It’s the world of the rich and privileged in Starlight City, and I don’t know anything other than I don’t want anything to do with them. Except one of my mates is them, and that life is dividing us right now. “There’ll be so many people here they won’t notice us. If they do notice you, most of them will be scared and leave. Which isn’t a bad thing. Plus, you can do that invisible thing and just make us slowly disappear when we get in there.” She shrugs. “This party will be full of drunks by the time we arrive late, and they won’t be looking for problems. The biggest issue is the ranger guards, but I’ve solved that.”
“You have?” I arch an eyebrow.
Her cheeks brighten. “I’m very rich now and it’s easy enough to pay them to look the other way. The rangers outside are all paid by me, and all the extra help too. Kos’s parents got the list of hired rangers for the event for me when I asked and told them it was because it was my first social gathering since Kos’s death, and I needed to be sure it was protected well.”
“Damn. I’m impressed,” I admit, and she grins proudly. I touch one of the photos of Annie’s parents on the dresser, seeing how much she looks like her mother. This is one of Annie’s parents’ houses, almost like a holiday home. Somewhere they regularly went just to be themselves and be a family. Now, it’s furniture covered in white blankets and photo frames with ghosts in them that make my best friend cry. I can’t protect her from the memories, but I hope to be there if she needs me.
“Anyway, my mother had a lot of dresses and very good taste. I know she would be glad we are reusing them. I had the seamstress use the materials from the dresses and alter them to fit us.” She looks at the photo and turns away quickly. “I knew that these would be perfect for us, and I need new memories here. I need things to remind me of my parents, you know. It makes me angry. It makes me remember to be mad. Because at the end of the day, the alpha sitting on the Starlight City throne caused their deaths. I want him off that throne as soon as possible and killed because of it.” She sounds fierce and her Nexus flashes in the depths of her eyes.
“I’m pretty sure my Nexus’ bloodthirstiness is rubbing off on yours.” I wink.
She laughs. “Your Nexus is a bad influence.” Her laugh drifts off. “We all need to make this world better.” She runs her hands down her dark blue dress. It’s the exact same colour as the night sky, but it’s elegant, with puffy sheer sleeves and a skirt that moves with her. Her hair is pulled up in a messy bun, the blonde pulled back and the bun showing the red dyed ends. A black, very expensive diamond crystal flower is clipped in the centre.
Annie comes over and hands me a box. “What’s this?”
“Open it, please.” I click the box open and there is a diamond flower hair clip, no particular flower, but it’s lovely and it’s the same as Annie’s.
“I can’t accept this, Annie. It’s real and a fortune…and I don’t have expensive things. Even just wearing it tonight would be?—”
“Wait.” She stops me, closing the box. “This is a family heirloom from my mother and her sister. Basically, they were made for my ancestors, and two women in my family tree should always have them for luck and life. There is only me left now, and my mother’s clip has sat in a box. I called you my sister, and I meant it, so it means you should have this. We will pass it on together.”
“Annie,” I whisper. “Are you sure? I’ll treasure it, but maybe you should keep it for a child or?—”
“I’m sure. Anyway, who said I’m having kids?” She shakes her head and picks it up. I turn for her to slide it into my hair. “There, perfect.” She rests her head on my shoulder. “I’m so glad for you in my life, Gwen. I didn’t know how much I needed a sister until you turned up.”
“Me neither.” I rest my head on hers for a moment, and she backs up. I turn back to the mirror. Annie gave me a choice of three dresses, and I went with the most distracting she offered, one that she wasn’t even sure her mum had ever worn, and somehow it looks far more distracting than I had in mind. It’s a skin-tight red dress that cups every bit of my curves, falling down to the floor, with a slit that goes straight up to my thigh. My boobs look, well, bigger than they are and pushed up. The back drops straight down to my hips, and the dress is held on by tape and pure miracles. How the hired stylist somehow managed to get it on me in the first place was like watching a magician at work. I feel like it might fall off at any second, but I’ve been assured that it won’t.
My hair is dead straight, falling straight down to the middle of my waist, and two braids are holding the flower clip in. I’ve chosen light makeup, but my lips are blood red like my dress. I barely recognise myself, and that’s a good thing because I’m walking into a party full of people who I need not to recognise me at all.
“You look like your mates are going to pass out when they see you.” Annie laughs.
“They won’t pass out.” I straighten my shoulders. “Drool a little, maybe. I’ll be happy with drooling.”
“Girl, they will drool. Onyx might be crawling on his knees to you when he sees you like this,” she suggests.
“A girl can hope,” I mutter under my breath. “Meet you downstairs?”
“Yes. I’m just going to make sure this place is locked up and grab the invites. You have a weapon, right?” she asks.
I pat my upper thigh and nod. I have my Nex dagger strapped to me, and I’m not going anywhere without it. She goes off to the living room. I glance once more at the view of Starlight City from this high-rise, admiring how beautiful it is before going to the lift and pressing down. The lift takes me out to the top of a small staircase, and my heels click as I walk down them. I’m not used to walking in heels, and I feel I’m going to fall at every moment, but I keep my back straight when I see four of my mates waiting for me. I didn’t expect to see them here.
Hollis is leaning on one of the pillars in the entrance hall, his arms crossed, his expression unreadable.
“Fuck me,“ Alek mutters, rubbing his jaw.
Finn stares at me like I’m a Goddess. “Woman, you literally have me begging, I mean begging, in that dress to take you back to the academy. Take you anywhere that’s not that party so we can be alone.”
Rhodes is silent, his eyes tracing my dress and me like he is memorising me.
“I’ll see you after the party.” I clear my throat. They don’t answer, they are still staring.
Annie comes out of the lift, eyes widening as she looks between us and her cheeks going as bright red as my dress. “Ready to go?” she squeaks.
“Yep.” I link my arm through hers, mostly to stop me from going to my mates and saying fuck it.
“Gwenieve.” Finnegan stops me and leans down. “Tell me you have panties on under that dress, because it really doesn’t look like it from here.”
I innocently bat my lashes at him. “The dress was too tight for them.”
He groans and steps closer, but Rhodes pushes him back with a shove. “You look heartbreakingly gorgeous. You will be a brilliant distraction.” He kisses my forehead. “Be careful.”
“Stunning,” Alek agrees, and he clears his throat. “Red. Red is definitely your colour.”
“Don’t die,” Hollis offers. I ignore him completely for a moment, but when I look his way, I wish I hadn’t. His eyes aren’t on me, they’re on my dress. Running up very slowly. He is looking, and it’s so confusing.
Finnegan steps closer again, and he looks a little more in control. “We’ll be nearby if anything goes wrong.”
“I will be fine, I promise.” I kiss his cheek, leaving a red lipstick stain, and grin at them all before leaving.
It’s weird to have people looking after me. It’s weird to have people lusting after me like they do. Gods, I think I would fall to my knees if I saw all of them in suits looking, well, any more handsome than they already do. There’s a limousine waiting outside, a driver holding the door open, and Annie climbs in first. I slide in after her, and the driver shuts the door behind us. Annie taps her foot as we drive through the city. “I’m nervous.”
“It will be okay. It’s lame to say that, but it will.” I shrug. “Worst case, I’ll let my Nexus out and she will freak out so many people that you’ll have plenty of time to run.”
She glowers at me. “You don’t have to do that. I’m choosing to help you and go against the alpha. I wouldn’t run until you were safe. He took my parents from me. He hurt you. He’s in control of our entire city, and I quite like this city and the people I grew up with. My father made mistakes and I’m not sure I’ll ever know all of them, but he told me he was loyal to the innocents in our city, and that’s why he chose to be alpha. I’m loyal to them, too.” She puts her hand on her knee to stop the tapping. “So we need evidence. There has to be something to stop him.”
“I have an idea,” I offer. “It will cause trouble, but it will be enough of a distraction for you to disappear. I can try to keep him distracted as long as possible.”
“I would suggest using that mate of yours, who he doesn’t want you anywhere near.” She wags her eyebrows. “And you get time with him. Even watched is better than nothing.”
“Great minds think alike.” I wink at her.
We arrive outside amid a row of limos even though we are late to the party. Annie looks surprised too. The building is as tall as most of the high-rises but thinner, and every inch of it is black, even the windows, which can’t be seen. The bottom floor looks like an older building, and the rest seems like it was added above. Rows of rangers stand all around every inch of the high gates, surrounding a perfectly manicured lawn with a path cutting in and bushes shaved down into star shapes.
One of the rangers checks the driver before nodding and letting us park up. The driver opens the door and I thank him before hooking my arm with Annie’s and walking in with her. It literally feels like stepping into another world. At the door, the rangers look at Annie’s invite and nod once at her, barely even glancing twice before we go in.
“Someone’s going to get fired for that,” I whisper to Annie.
“Most definitely, but they are paid well either way.” She giggles. I smother my laugh with her. There are some benefits to having money. We head past dozens of people going up a thick staircase in the entrance hall, some of them nodding to Annie and me. They don’t run and they don’t stare at me. Annie says it first. “They aren’t recognising you.”
“To be fair to them, the pictures they put of me in the newspapers are not the most flattering. I kind of look a bit different right now,” I suggest.
“You mean the newspaper articles Finnegan has tacked all over his office?” she whispers.
“How do you know they’re in his office?” I ask her. I haven’t been to his office in a while, but it doesn’t surprise me that he has the newspaper articles on me.
“Oh, I was looking for you,” she explains. “I didn’t find you, of course, but I was surprised to see newspaper articles tacked up on the wall, and they are framed. He says he’s proud of them.”
I snort. “It’s just a Finnegan thing.” After a few minutes of waiting in a small queue to get in, I admit it to her. “We slept together.” I end up blurting it out, and several people look our way with a mix of interest or disgust.
“I was waiting for you to tell me.” She laughs low. “I don’t know or want to know how you’re getting away with it in the academy, but good for you! It’s about time.”
“I didn’t know sex could be… I was worried that it would affect my Nexus somehow, that it would be like, I don’t know, fuel for her. But if anything, it sated her. She’s calmer. We’re actually agreeing on things. She’s helped me. I don’t know whether it’s the dream state lessons or the sex or the fact that we’re pretty much on the same page when it comes to all our mates. Except for, you know, the issues that we have with Hollis and…” I don’t say his name, but she knows. “Anyway, what I’m saying is I like sex.”
“Good.” She chuckles. “I’d be worried if you didn’t like having sex with your mate. I guessed because you both look happy, and I’m glad you have that, some real happiness. You deserve it, Gwenieve. All the crazy shit that’s going on? You deserve this.”
“Thank you. Anyway, we will need to continue talking about the sex, because Finn does this thing—” I’m cut off as we finally get through the door and into the main room. Annie’s cheeks are the brightest shade of red, but I end up focusing on the only man in the room that exists to me.
Onyx.
The massive ballroom stretches the entire base of the tower, and there’s an orchestra playing right at the back, and people are dancing in the middle. The walls are gold and the tiled floor glitters silver, reflecting the light from the dozens of chandeliers on the ceilings. It’s like stepping back in time, but everyone’s wearing much sluttier dresses than they were back then.
Onyx is on the other side of the room, but there might as well be nothing between us. The dancers are blocking our view, but I see him, and I nearly can’t breathe with the look he gives me. We stare at each other through the gaps in the dancers. My eyes flicker to the woman standing at his side, touching his arm. The woman his father wants him to marry. Mei, or something.
“May she be dead,” my Nexus whispers to me, and I nearly cough on thin air. Nope. I push her back, reminding her that murder is not something we can do tonight, and we can’t kill that poor woman for no reason other than being forced into a marriage with Onyx. We all know he doesn’t want it either. Hopefully, when we get rid of the alpha, the whole idea of the marriage will just disappear too.
“Good luck,” Annie whispers before she slips into the crowd. I walk past a waiter with glasses of champagne, and I pick up two, downing both of them, putting the empty glasses back.
“Thanks,” I tell the shocked waiter before charging through the middle of the dancers. I attract attention as I go, people moving out of the way and stopping their dance. I don’t stop until I’m right up next to Onyx, and I slowly look at him. Holy fucking Gods. Onyx is in a tailored midnight blue suit that fits him well—too well. His shirt is white with a black tie, and every time he so much as breathes, the suit moves with him, showcasing every inch of how hot he is. I’m fighting the urge to keep him in the suit or rip it off. I’m fighting the urge to not step closer, to tell him everything I’m feeling, and ask him if he feels the same way. His dark hair is brushed to the left, locks fighting their way out to curl around his ears. Onyx’s black eyes lock onto me, like the pitch-black night sky, and I struggle to breathe with how he stares. “Mr Nieminen. Are you enjoying the party?”
“Miss Autumn.” I missed his voice. He takes my hand and slowly kisses it. The second his lips touch my skin, my body burns for him, and I can almost feel that kiss everywhere. I want that kiss everywhere. But he lets go of my hand and my skin turns cold again. “I think this party just got started. And you?”
“I am now,” I formally reply, liking this game. Mei clears her throat, and Onyx remembers she is there. I do too. Mei is our age, of Chinese heritage I’d guess from her looks and dark hair, and she is pretty in a silver gown. “You’re not threatened by me enough that I can’t have a dance with Mr Nieminen, right?”
“Of course not, Gwenieve,” she splutters, using my name. “You two should dance. This next song is brilliant.”
“Awesome.” I forget her existence again to focus on Onyx, and he doesn’t need me to say a word. Onyx’s hand presses against my back as he steps up to me, and everything in my body tightens. The room is too quiet, and I know the attention I was meant to be getting is happening, but all I see is him. Onyx pulls me into his arms, right in the centre of the dancers, and for a second, I catch his father watching from the other side of the room. A young woman in a gold dress is draped on his arm, and it is definitely not his wife. Her company is probably paid for. Onyx effortlessly moves us to the song, which Mei was right, is brilliant and quick, and I love it. “I like dressed up, posh boy Onyx. It’s almost like you were born for this.”
His laugh is dirty. “You look like the most tempting thing I’ve ever seen in my whole fucking life in that dress. Do you know how much I want to take you into any empty room in here, peel that dress off you, and kiss every delicious part of your body?”
Damn. Just damn. My heart is racing as I look up at him. He is still spinning us around, leading me, and I’m glad he is because I know I’d fall over otherwise. He makes it look like I can dance when it’s him doing all the work. “Onyx, do you know how hard it is not being able to do any of that, to not be able to come to you when…” I don’t know how to say it, and I’m not sure now is a good time to tell him I’m in love with him and this is too much. It’s tearing me apart.
“The rune is all I have, the only connection I have to know you’re okay. It’s fucking killing me that I can’t do anything more because of that prick over there,” he whispers to me. “But I want you to know, I want you to be sure, that no matter what happens, I am yours. I am in love with you, Gwenieve. Madly, endlessly and forever in love with you. This part of our lives will end, and the only ending that I will accept is us together. Fuck the Gods, fuck the alpha or anyone who comes between us. You are mine. I am yours. Tell me you feel the same…please.”
My eyes are full of tears as I feel my features soften. “Onyx, I love you too…we could just go, all of us, we could just leave. I don’t want you getting hurt by him, and I just want to be with you, too.”
“If we ran, it would put you at risk every moment of the day. I won’t do that.” He tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear. “And your life of running and being scared is over. I won’t have you live like that anymore. You deserve so much better, and I am going to look after you, even if it costs us time.”
I lean up and kiss him. Fuck anyone else. Gasps echo around the room, but I just feel him. My Nexus just purrs as he kisses me back. “We shouldn’t do this.” He kisses me through his warning, like he can’t stop, and I know I don’t want him to.
“It’s definitely taking the distraction way too far,” I whisper back between more kisses, and his hands tighten on my hips as he pulls me against him.
“I don’t care.” He sinks his hand into my hair.
“That’s enough!” My arm is roughly grabbed, and I’m yanked away from him. Onyx growls low and his eyes turn red as he storms after me, pulling me from his father’s grip.
“There are many things I’ll tolerate, but if you touch her again, that list completely ends, father.” Onyx’s growl echoes around the room. “Take your fucking hands off my mate.”
Shit. This wasn’t the plan. I clear my throat and step away from them both. Annie, you best have found something because our time is up. “I’m so sorry. That was my fault. My Nexus has a bit of trouble accepting the new realities of this situation. I didn’t want to kiss you, anyway.” We both know it’s a complete lie, but I swear he looks hurt. Please, please agree.
His eyes are back to the black, and he rubs his hand over his lips. “You shouldn’t allow your Nexus to have so much control, and you shouldn’t be here. Mine was forced to respond.” He clears his throat. “It’s time you left, Gwenieve.”
I know he doesn’t want me to. I don’t want to. “I hope you enjoy your party, Alpha,” I say mockingly before turning and walking away. I stop by a scared waiter and pick up the entire bottle of champagne rather than one of the glasses. “And thanks for the expensive but shit champagne! I need to get drunk to forget this lame party!” I shout, my voice echoing for a final distraction, looking round for Annie, hoping she’s okay.
I barely get outside towards the main entrance before Finn is pulling up on his bike. He wordlessly offers me a helmet and his black leather jacket. I slide it on, pulling up the skirt as much as I can while still being somewhat modest on his bike. I don’t like bikes, but I want to get out of here. I clutch the bottle of champagne to me, wrapping my arms around Finn, and he drives off the second I’m settled.
My stomach feels like it’s in my chest as he drives through Starlight City, the streetlights and cars flashing by. I don’t think I’ll get used to the motorbike riding, ever really. I settle into him, feeling cold, but the heat of his body is enough for us, and he stops somewhere I don’t know.
“Harry’s grave is here. I thought you might want to see it while we are in the city,” Finnegan offers. “Did you date him? He’s already dead, so you don’t have to worry about me killing him.”
I shake my head. “No, and that was insensitive.”
His eyes soften. “I’m sorry. For months I thought he was more to you, and it took everything I had to stop myself from ending him. I wanted to be sure.”
Alright then. “I think he liked me, but I never let anyone close. I saw him as family, and he is dead because of me. I can’t go in there. I shouldn’t.” I clear my throat. “But maybe just from here I can raise a bottle to him and hope the Gods are looking after him now.” I unscrew the lid and take a long drink. “I’m sorry, Harry. I couldn’t save you. I never deserved any of this life here. It should have been you. Everyone else sees it.”
“Hey, no, it should have been you, and I don’t fucking see it. Harry is dead, and it wasn’t your fault. Stop that bullshit.” Finnegan takes the bottle and drinks long and deep before chucking it over the fence. “While you’re doubting your worth, I’m out here defending your unlimited potential because the world should be scared of what you could be. They should be on their knees, bowing.”
Finnegan doesn’t give me long enough to answer that before he kicks the brake off the bike and drives off with me. I should ask the Gods what I did to deserve him in my life because he is amazing and always on my side in everything. Finnegan parks up outside the academy and helps me off the bike. “Do I need to take you to the roof and use my tongue to convince you of your self-worth?”
I purse my lips. “Sure, I mean I’m feeling really—” My half-joking reply is stopped as my Nexus screeches in my mind. Pure pain radiates across my skull just before I black out right into Finn’s arms. Two voices come out of the darkness, fuzzy and echoing for a while before I can make out more sounds. There’s a baby crying—no, wait, two babies crying.
“Don’t take her. We can sort this out, we can fix everything, but this is madness. What are you doing?” My father is shouting, and he sounds desperate. But why?
My mother is the complete opposite. “You get to keep the one, not two. Do you understand? If I don’t take one of them, then he’s going to take both of them. We will have no chance. I sacrificed everything for them. I gave up everything, and so did you. We agreed about this.”
“It’s different now. They’re here,” my father pleads, “Please, no.”
My mother doesn’t say anything for a long time. There is just the sound of babies crying. “Choose one. The other goes and we never speak of her again. She will be dead to us.”
When I wake up with a gasp, clinging to Finnegan’s shirt. He’s carrying me up the stairs into the academy, and he stops when he sees I’m awake. “What the hell happened? We are going to the healers now?—”
“No, I’m fine now…it was my Nexus.” I touch my head. “I don’t know, my Nexus was screaming in pain and then… It was just a weird dream. I don’t know what happened.” I try to reach for her, but she’s almost crying like a wounded animal in my mind.
“Can I help?” Georgina steps up, her sickly sweet voice grating on my nerves. She touches Finn’s arm, careful not to touch me, like I have germs. I feel like she is the one with the germs. “You look like you are having a problem. Maybe we should take you to the healers, and they can take a look.”
“Get your hand off me,” Finnegan growls at her, and his tone even scares me. “I don’t know what the fuck’s wrong with you, Georgina, but she’s crying in pain, passing out, and then you’re here. If you did this, you are dead.” He holds me closer as Georgina rips her hand off him. “You touch me again, even just put your hand on me, I’m going to break your fucking hand, do you understand?” She pales as she takes a step back. “This connection, whatever the fuck it is, I’m going to figure out a way to claw it out of my chest and burn it. If you’re not careful, you’ll be burning right next to it with whatever fucking magic you used to create it, because it’s not real. I know what the real thing is. It’s not you. It’s my mate, in my arms, and you are nothing. You may have all the other tutors here convinced, but I see right through you.”
I love him so, so fucking much.
He holds me to his chest, carrying me away as I look over his shoulder at Georgina on the bottom step. She’s not scared. If anything, she’s smiling, a coldness to her eyes that feels like it slams straight into my own soul. For the first time, I think I’ve seen the real Georgina, and it’s pretty fucking terrifying.