A Promise of Lies (Shadows of the Tenebris Court #3)

by Clare Sager

I’d once read an old story that included a curse I hadn’t understood in childhood. May you live in interesting times. Now I understood it all too well.

“I’ll see you later,” she said, voice thick, belying how casual her words were. I swallowed back the gritty, hot feeling in my throat and nodded. “You will. I’ll be there in bed with you, just the other side of the veil. Lie on the left side and place your hand in the middle. I’ll hold it all through the night.” Her chin trembled, and I stood ready to hold her and let her cry as long as I dared. But it lasted less than a second before she inclined her head, once, firm. “And listen for me telling you how much I love you.” “I will.” My eyes burned, and I screwed them shut as we kissed, hard and slow like we could stretch time itself.

As much as I held on to control so often, I knew now—I couldn’t control her. I certainly couldn’t control everything. And, as dangerous as all that felt, the world hadn’t ended.