Bedeviled by Sable Grace Page B

being only half as good as she was used to being. She was facing enough of a challenge as it was. A cloud rolled over the bright sun, casting shadows over the trailer park before the sun popped out once again and coated her skin like a fleece blanket. She wished she could sit here and do nothing but drink in the day, but sadly for her, the agenda wasn’t going to be that pleasant.
    Haven’s father tripped his way down the trailer’s steps, stinking up the moment with B.O. and stale cigarettes. She glared over her shoulder at him, pissed that, not only was he ruining her sunrise, but that she’d also been talked into returning to pick him up in the first place.
    Ryker and Silas had insisted that it would go against the Order of Ancients if they left the man to die. They’d sent for help for the people huddled in the malls; it was only fair to help Haven’s bastard daddy as well.
    As he made his way toward them, she squinted, scrutinizing his face for some resemblance to Haven. She found it buried beneath thick gray eyebrows that covered the familiar blue eyes staring back at her with apprehension. This man had fathered her best friend, had given Haven to the world, and yet even that acknowledgment didn’t soften her toward him.
    As far as she was concerned, there wasn’t a Dark Breed ever created that could equal the evil of an abusive parent.
    Pushing herself to her feet, she finished chewing the last bite of her bread and looked to Ryker, who was leaning on the lamppost beside her. “You know what pisses me off the most? I know what it means to be a monster. I don’t want to believe I’ve given that fate to my best friend.”
    â€œShe’s only a monster when you’ve given up and left her to whatever fate Cronos is trying to hand her.”
    Kyana tried to read him, but his face was a blank page. She knew he didn’t think Haven was worth her time, but something in his voice told her he wanted to think she might be. That because Kyana believed it, maybe he’d try as well.
    â€œI could try to link with her again,” she heard herself say, though it was the last thing she wanted to do. So far, each time she’d reached out to Haven, what she’d seen had grown darker and more frightening.
    Ryker gave a faint smile and turned his attention back to the road, probably wishing Silas would hurry the hell up so they could be on their way. “We have a long drive. A nap might not be a bad idea. If you sleep, maybe you can reach her.”
    Nodding, she looked around at the mobile home and tried to envision her friend growing up here. It was hard. Haven was so bright and bubbly, so sunny. How did someone grow up in this environment and turn out so damned happy and eager to help people?
    The same way someone born of privilege ends up cynical and bitter like I did .
    Kyana knew better than anyone that one’s material environment meant nothing. She’d been born with a silver spoon in her mouth. Wanted for nothing as the daughter of a very wealthy businessman. She’d married a prince, lived in a palace, and yet the royalty and nobility that had surrounded her had been no better than the scum Haven had been brought up with.
    The only difference was, Kyana had cleaned up her blood with silk and Haven had dabbed hers with toilet paper.
    â€œYou’re shivering,” Ryker said, pulling Kyana from her funk. “It’s like eighty degrees and you have warm blood now, so what’s making you shiver?”
    â€œJust thinking.”
    â€œAbout?”
    â€œFamily.”
    The sigh she released was filled with weariness as she shut her eyes against the sun. “It takes strength to care, I think. Haven was way stronger than I ever was.”
    â€œJust because you care about different things doesn’t make you weak, Ky.”
    She felt him watching her, but she refused to look up at him. “What if she is stronger than me, in every way