Where Soft Light Shines Darkness Fades From Tired Hearts by Evan Holt Crane 489
Third Person’s POV
Trista took Xander’s call, and after a quick talk, she was out the door.
Finished
By 10:00 AM, she was walking out of a top–tier L.A. auction house, letting out a long, relieved breath.
Xander caught her huge grin and couldn’t help but smile back. “Looks like a win. See you Monday, future Chief Healer.”
Trista watched Xander’s sports car pull away and instinctively clutched her bag tighter.
The obsidian scepter her mother left her had just hammered down for a staggering $1.6 billion. That was more than enough to pay Cassian back every cent–plus a massive cushion to keep the Silverlight Pack running for years.
She had two days before her internship at the Blade Healing Center started.
Tomorrow, she planned to move her parents and Attwater out of Cassian’s house for good.
The next morning, everyone was up early.
Since the estate came fully furnished and staffed by Cassian’s people, they only had to pack their clothes and personal gear.
Trista hired a box truck, and they cleared out in one trip.
Before leaving, she hired professional cleaners to scrub the place until there wasn’t a trace of them left.
They spent the rest of the day getting settled into the new apartment. By sunset, all four of them were crashed on the sofa, totally wiped out.
Around 7:00 PM, starving, they headed to a hole–in–the–wall BBQ joint on the West Side.
They grabbed a table right by the sidewalk and ordered piles of ribs, spicy crawfish, and some cold craft beers.
Not far away, a black armored sedan pulled up to the curb.
The window rolled down. Cassian sat in the back, watching Trista laugh and joke with her family while she tore into a rib. There was a look of pure affection in his eyes that he didn’t even notice.
63
Finished
He realized that the “peace” he’d spent his whole past life looking for could actually be this simple–just a casual meal at a roadside spot.
Cassian smoothed out his suit and stepped out.
“Cassian, over here!”
Attwater’s eyes lit up, and he immediately jumped up to give his seat to his hero.
Randolph joined in, waving for the waiter to bring another set of silverware.
Cassian looked at the flimsy folding chair, adjusted his trousers, and sat down right next to Trista.
Trista was mid–struggle with a crawfish when she saw him. She froze. “Do you ever stop haunting us?”
Cassian saw a bit of spicy sauce on the corner of her mouth. He naturally reached for a napkin to wipe it off.
Trista leaned back fast, dodging him.
Cassian pulled his hand back without a word. He looked around the gritty neighborhood and asked, “What are you guys doing all the way out here? The West Side is a mess.”
“Attwater said the BBQ here is a legend. He dragged us!” Trista blurted out, shooting her brother a warning look.
She didn’t want Cassian knowing they’d moved yet.
She planned to settle the bills, pack up his expensive “gifts,” and ambush him with the
money
tomorrow.
Cassian gave her a puzzled look, but since the old Trista was always a bit scatterbrained, he didn’t think much of it.
Randolph asked if he wanted a drink, and Cassian asked for a light beer.
Trista rolled her eyes.
Cassian was the most high–maintenance Alpha she knew; usually, he wouldn’t even look at a place like this, let alone eat on a sidewalk with zero privacy.
Seeing him sip his beer without touching the food, Trista grabbed a crawfish drenched in “insanity–level” hot sauce and held it to his lips. “Try this. Top–tier stuff. You’ll love it.”
Cassian looked her in the eye and opened his mouth.
18:10 Fri, Apr 3.
63
Finished
Trista stuffed the spicy meat in.
After one chew, Cassian’s face went into a knot.
He looked at her in agony while Trista just shrugged. “Don’t force it if you can’t handle it, Mr. CEO.”
Cassian’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he forced himself to swallow the liquid fire.
“Ahem-!” The spice hit him hard. He started looking for water.
Ulva tried to hand him a glass, and Attwater offered his own cup. “Take mine!”
Randolph frowned at them. “Cassian, you know you can’t handle spice. Don’t let Trista mess with you.”
Trista was laughing her head off at him.
As Ulva went to hand him a glass, Cassian reached out and grabbed the ice water Trista had been drinking from, draining half of it.
Trista cut him a look and did a mental face–palm.
Randolph patted Cassian’s back to help him catch his breath–but his hand landed right on those whip wounds.
Cassian let out a sharp hiss of pain.
Randolph froze. “What’s wrong?”
Sara Lili
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.