Chapter42:

Rain cast a gloomy haze across the back garden, fading the familiar vibrant shades of red and purple Kit was used to gazing upon to drab hues. Yet, sitting in the window in the library looking out over the empty grounds refreshed her spirit somehow. It was as if the drops that hit the window pane reached her soul and cleansed it. These past few days, she’d felt more hopeful than she had in a long time, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on why. Her connection with Reeve had reawakened part of her spirit she had been avoiding for years, the parts of her that still ached and longed for what she’d never had. Facing those emotions and starting to deal with them had been enlightening in a way she’d never expected, and she owed it all to the man with the ribbon of scars. She’d spent as much time with Cassius as she could, though she knew it wasn’t enough for either of them. Dividing her time between forty-one men was difficult, and making the moments she shared with each meaningful was