When There Is Nothing Left But Love

She was obsessed with Buddhism. The moment she was saved, she erected a Buddha statue in her room and started worshipping it. Tessa sat cross legged before the statue and put her hands together as she muttered the mantras under her breath.

“What do you want to talk about?” she said.

I looked at her and answered, “Do you really believe he’ll bless you?”

She looked at me from the corner of her eye and replied sternly, “I wouldn’t be talking to you now if he doesn’t.”

Well, that was one woman far gone in religion. I paused for a moment. “They said you live in A City. Laurel’s going to open up a shop there once we get back. Want to join us?”

“No,” she refused firmly.

I nodded. “I didn’t mean it, you know. I didn’t want to hurt you guys. I really didn’t. I never expected Dante to hurt you like that. I—”

“Enough!” she interrupted me and threw me a dirty look. “Do you really think you’re that noble, Stovall? You keep looking down at us from a pedestal. Has anyone ever told you you’re one heck of a hypocrite?”

at

don’t think you even realized this yourself, but you’re a cold, selfish woman. And yet you keep trying to make yourself out to be some saint. You come from a privileged background, men fawn over you, and people would help you out no matter what. All you did was sit on your *ss and reaped the rewards. Ask yourself: have you ever gotten something through your own

having no

they do, don’t you? That’s why you kept quiet when Dante chose me. Because you’d feel less guilty if I was the one who’s hurt. Because you never liked

sentimental, and even though I knew some part of her

yes, but I didn’t do my best either. I just went with the flow and didn’t do everything I could. even though I knew Ashton might be looking for me in Venria, I was still staying in Western Europe

say to that?” She sneered with

got up and left without saying anything. Not many people

…

golden dust. It was already August

or ID since the security was lax thanks to Armond, but it wouldn’t be so easy the other

only number I memorized was Ashton’s. That proved to be a headache for Armond, and he had to talk to a lot of people in power to get the

and Armond sent his men to take our flight

held my hands. “You can’t imagine