It had been one week.
One week since I was dragged out of hell.
One week since the ocean swallowed Valentin's screams.
One week since Dante D'Angelo died with a smile on his face.
And now—
We stood in the rain, burying the woman who had given me life… and taken it away just as easily.
My mother.
Marliese Delacroix.
A tear slipped down my cheek, cold against my skin as it mixed with the rain pouring from the heavy, unforgiving sky. The kind of rain that didn't fall softly—it punished. Like the world itself was mourning her… or judging her.
I didn't know which.
Kieran's arm tightened slightly around my waist. He held the large black umbrella over us. His warmth was the only thing grounding me, keeping me from drifting too far into the storm inside my head.
Black umbrellas filled the cemetery like a sea of shadows.
Everyone was dressed in black.
