Until both Seth and Sebastian walked into the greenhouse at the Gardens I didn’t know for certain if they’d make the same decision. Sebastian I imagined having a more in depth conversation with, but Seth was more complicated. Even though he had a lot of conflicted feelings when it came to Titus that didn’t mean he’d be willing to work against him. It technically wasn’t exactly my plan, not if what I thought possible actually happened, because I understood Titus better than I did Anne. We’d actually been friends, so I believed I knew the choices he’d make when it came to her. Seth’s eyes met with mine across the…

Seth paced. “Do we trust him?” It was the same question he’d already asked multiple times. “Julian was being truthful.” He looked at me. “Seth, I don’t know whether we should trust him, but it helps he didn’t lie to us, even about his feelings for Mama. From what I could tell he’d made the choice to talk to us for the right reasons.” Even if Seth didn’t I planned on talking to Julian again. There was more to learn from him, and that mattered, because I didn’t think anything anyone said would stop my twin from trying to ‘save’ Mama. Mama not wanting saving hadn’t crossed his mind once.…

The Lockwood house had changed through the years. I walked down one of the first hallways Titus created, not knowing then he was being watched. He’d assumed the fire destroyed my soul, the same way it had all the others, but I’d been touched by magic before it changed Marren Vale. Even though I no longer lived my soul was still connected with Anne’s, and there was much more I’d learnt in the years since. Unfortunately the soulbond had become a necessity, although I still had doubts it was originally – we just didn’t have the time to experiment, something I could have done after the fire, had it not…