Selene POV
"We're walking into it together."
Arius's words echoed in my mind as I sat in my mother's car, speeding away from the destroyed hall. His hand had been so warm in mine. So strong. Even when both our dads were furious, even when everything was falling apart, he hadn't let go.
"Selene, are you listening to me?"
My mother's sharp voice pulled me back to reality. She was sitting across from me in the back seat, her amber eyes burning with anger.
"I'm sorry. What did you say?"
"I said you are forbidden from seeing Arius Blackwood ever again. Do you understand me?"
I looked out the window at the city lights flashing by. "It's too late for that, Mother."
"What do you mean, too late?"
I took a deep breath. "I mean we have to meet with whoever called us. Tomorrow night. It's the only way to save both our families."
"Absolutely not!" Lady Valeria's voice got louder. "I won't let you walk into an obvious trap!"
"Then what's your plan?" I turned to face her. "Let them ruin us with fake evidence? Watch our family name get ruined forever?"
"We'll find another way."
"What other way? The cops already think we're terrorists. The news is calling us murderers. Every business partner we have is probably breaking contracts right now."
My mother's face went pale because she knew I was right.
"There has to be something else we can do," she said softly.
"Like what? Run away? Hide? Change our names and start over somewhere else?"
"If necessary, yes."
I stared at her in shock. "You would really give up everything Grandfather built? Everything you've worked for your whole life?"
"To keep you safe? Yes."
Her words hit me right in the heart. I knew my mother loved me, but hearing her say she'd give up our entire family tradition to protect me made my eyes burn with tears.
"I love you too, Mother. That's why I have to do this."
"Selene—"
"If I don't meet with them, they'll kill our family anyway. At least this way, we have a chance to fight back."
My phone buzzed with a text message. Unknown number again.
"Don't read it," my mother warned.
But I was already opening the message. The words made my blood freeze:
"Change of plans. The meeting is tonight. One hour. Come alone, or your families burn."
"Tonight?" I whispered.
"What does it say?" Mother grabbed my phone and read the message. Her face went white as snow.
"We're calling the police," she said, reaching for her own phone.
"No!" I grabbed her wrist. "They said to come alone. If we engage the police, they might hurt innocent people."
"And if we don't involve the police, they might hurt you!"
"Mother, listen to me." I took her hands in mine. "I know this is scary. I'm scared too. But Arius was right - this is the only way to end it."
"You barely know that boy. How can you trust him with your life?"
That was a good question. How could I trust Arius? We'd only really talked for a few minutes before everything went crazy. But when I thought about the way he'd looked at me, the way he'd protected me from the masked men, the way he'd taken my hand even when his father was angry...
"I trust him because he chose me over his own family," I said. "When his father told him to walk away, he refused. That means something."
My mother stared at me for a long moment. "You care about him."
It wasn't a question. She could see the truth in my face.
"Yes," I admitted. "I do care about him. I know it's crazy and impossible and wrong, but I can't help it."
"Selene, he's a Blackwood."
"He's also brave and honest and kind. When those guys were attacking us, he didn't think about our family feud. He just tried to keep me safe."
Lady Valeria was quiet for a minute, thinking. Finally, she said, "If you're determined to do this foolish thing, you're not going alone." " But they said—" "I don't care what they said. I'm your mother. I'm supposed to protect you."
"And I'm supposed to protect our family. All of it. Including you."
We stared at each other, both stubborn and scared and desperate.
That's when my phone rang. Arius's name on the screen.
"Answer it," my mother said grimly.
"Hello?"
"Selene, did you get the message too?"
"Yes. One hour. Tonight."
"I'm not letting you go alone."
His words sent warmth through my whole body. Even facing danger, he was thinking about my safety.
"My mother says the same thing."
"Then we'll all go together. Both families. If they want a meeting, they'll get one."
"Arius, that's not what they asked for."
"I don't care what they asked for. I'm not letting anything happen to you."
Before I could reply, I heard shouting in the background. Arius's father was arguing with him, saying it was too risky, saying he was being an idiot.
"I have to go," Arius said. "Meet me at the old pier in forty-five minutes. And Selene?"
"Yes?"
"Whatever happens tonight, we face it together."
The line went dead.
I looked at my mother, who had heard every word.
"He really cares about you," she said softly.
"I think he does."
"And you really care about him."
"Yes."
She sighed deeply. "Then I suppose we're about to find out if love is stronger than hatred."
Twenty minutes later, our car pulled up to the old pier. The place was dark and empty, with only a few street lights creating scary shadows on the water.
I could see another car already there. Arius got out as we approached, and even in the dim light, he looked strong and determined.
"Are you ready?" he asked when I reached him.
"As ready as I can be."
We walked toward the end of the pier together, our families following behind us. The water lapped quietly against the old wooden posts, and somewhere in the distance, a ship's horn echoed across the bay.
"There," Arius pointed ahead.
A person stood at the very end of the pier, silhouetted against the dark water. Tall, wearing a long coat, face hidden in shadows.
As we got closer, the figure turned toward us.
"Right on time," a familiar voice said.
My heart stopped.
I knew that voice.
It was my father.
The father who was meant to be dead