Chapter 61

This chapter  takes place after Xiao and Henriette’s first meeting

Ophelia

The smoke is lazily curling in a spiral around his long, gentle fingers. Then the air wraps his hand in its blue cloud only to dissolve into the air a few seconds later as he exhales and his breath destroys the dancing shapes.

It vanishes.

The way he always does, always coming and going. No one knows what he does, where he goes, and how long it will take him to come back.

If he comes back.

He looks troubled and fails to conceal it this time. I can’t tell why.

And normally, I’m very good at telling what’s going on in someone’s head. He looks at me, and it’s like he wants to ask me something but doesn’t know how to turn his thoughts into words and voice them.

One of Ella’s girls sits next to Xiao and runs her hand over his back.

He ignor