Love. I was in love with Lenora Astalis. Had been from the goddamn get-go. I’d offered her a brownie because I wanted to talk to her. I’d followed her back to her room at Carlisle after she’d entered the darkroom because I wanted to thrust myself into her life with a dirty pact. A bargain. A silent contract. I bullied her because I loved her. I loved her because she was the only girl who looked at me and didn’t see money or status or violence or a heartless prince. She saw me.
