Evangeline’s POV:
My eyes narrowed on him, venom practically dripping from my voice as I hissed out, “He’ll kill you before that.”
In hindsight, I shouldn’t have said that. I shouldn’t have looked him in the eye, shouldn’t have spoken with such fire in my tone. It was foolish, reckless—a spark tossed into a powder keg.
Because what came next was not unexpected.
A hard slap cracked across my face, the sound echoing louder than my gasp. I went tumbling to the ground like a discarded doll, my cheek stinging from the impact, the taste of copper blooming on my tongue. The pain bloomed slowly, burning like fire licking under my skin. My arms shook beneath me as I stayed down, my forehead nearly grazing the floor.
My ears rang.
“Bold words,” Rossi said coldly, looming above me like a shadow
