I was furious with myself for letting that beast inside me slip out. He was the reason I had been caged in the basement for so long. If it weren’t for the guardian, Thalia, I would probably still be locked down there, chained like a rabid animal.
But why did she free me? I had told her to leave, to run, to stay far away from me, but Ryan... Ryan found a way. He always does. It’s like he speaks to her in a way I can’t, in a way that makes her see something else in me.
What shocked me the most was how Ryan behaved with her. He’s usually brutal—rips off heads without a second thought, but not with Thalia. He was gentle, soft, almost...sweet. He listened to her. *Listened.* Something I don’t do, something I *can’t* do.
I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn’t notice her at first. When I
