Celina was doubled over with laughter, trying not to smudge her freshly painted nails.

“Zoe! Stop!” she said between giggles. “You’re dangerous!”

“And you’re an angel for not smashing her face in when you had the chance!” Zoe shot back. “She’s a shameless witch, and I don’t have patience for shameless people. And you and Thor? Your problem is that you two always fight after sex instead of before.”

Celina took a deep breath, her laughter fading into something heavier. She told Zoe about the conversation she’d had with Gabriel—that his words had been harsh, almost cruel, but they had hit her like a mirror she couldn’t look away from. It was as if he had stripped bare everything she’d been trying to hide from herself.

“I felt beaten by his words, you know?” she admitted softly. “But it was the kind of beating I needed. I had to hear it. To see that I had my share in all of this too. That I erased myself. Lost myself...”

Zoe squeezed her hand firmly.

“Gabriel’s a prince. And not just beca