Chapter 82

Delaney

"No." The word came out hoarse, barely an audible sound as my eyes locked on the one person I never expected to see, not like this, not with the dark witches. Yet he stood there smirking, in flesh and blood.

"You are not...you can't be..." I trailed off, blinking slower than I would have liked.

He tilted his head, amusement written on his face, the very face I'd trusted. "You look like you have seen a ghost," he spoke.

My mind knew for a fact that it was Carter standing right in front of me, but my heart refused to believe what my eyes were seeing. If my hands had been free, I would have rubbed my eyelids, then opened my eyes to reconfirm.

"How could you..." I croaked, trailing off as the words dried on my tongue. I lowered my gaze to the floor, not because I was afraid, but