The door handle twisted again. My lungs seized. 

Damon leaned in close, his breath ghosting my ear, his voice a whisper sharp as steel. “Don’t speak.”

The lock rattled. My chest tightened until I thought I’d faint. I opened my mouth, but Damon pressed two fingers against my lips. His eyes bore into mine, promising me he had this.

“Aria,” Father said again, voice calmer now, but with that weight that always made me feel like a child trembling before judgment. “Open the ...