Ariella's POV
The thought slammed into me like a punch to the gut.
Those glowing red eyes were gone now, faded back to something almost normal in the low evening light.
The shadowy figure had resolved into a very real, very familiar man standing right there, his hand still resting on my shoulder like he had every right to touch me in that manner.
Cole.
The same Cole who had cornered me in the corridor earlier with his cryptic “your secret is safe” bullshit. The one I couldn’t remember saving. The one whose presence had already set my nerves on edge back at the palace.
He wasn’t breathing hard. Wasn’t even sweating like someone that has been running for a while.
Just standing there with a calm, almost amused look on his face while my claws hovered inches from his throat.
The sp
