EMBER’S POV
And her whole face transforms, and this is a thing I have never once seen on my mother in twenty-six years.
Before my eyes, Devika’s gaze sparks and dilates.
The arrogant lines of her face melt away completely, leaving her looking startlingly helpless and almost shy. It is the most terrifying thing I have ever seen her do.
Pure horror grips me as the truth finally dawns on me.
My mother was in love.
“Oh, he was the most beautiful thing I ever laid eyes on,” she says, smiling. “Black hair down to his shoulders. A smile like a charming devil. Gold on every single finger, and he put it on me, Ember. He draped me in things I’d only ever watched other women wear on TV. He looked at a rogue girl carrying drinks in a mountain and saw something worth claiming.” Her eyes shine, we
