“How are you feeling?” I asked once the bartender had left us in our corner, away from prying ears.

He grabbed another shot off the sleek surface of the bar and tipped his head back as he downed it. A devilish grin spread across his face. “I’m awesome.”

“I’m serious. We haven’t had a chance to really talk after that encounter with Marsela.”

“It sucked,” Adrian admitted. “But I’ll live. How about you, Montgomery? Are you okay? You know, after hearing about Carlo, and everything else that’s been going on.”

“No. And I don’t think I will ever be.”

“Hey, don’t say that.” Adrian slid one of his shots to me. “Here. Have a drink.”

I slid it back to him. “I’m not eighteen yet, remember.” Even if I was of age, I wouldn’t be drinking tonight. I had to keep my wits about me. I needed to focus on figuring out a way to avoid ever having a click.

“Suit yourself.” Adrian downed the shot.

“I’m not going to have a click,” I blurted.

He said nothing for one full minute, then reached for another shot and said, “Everyone will have a click eventually. It’s our fate. If not in this lifetime then the next one.”

“But what if we can change it?”

“We don’t have the power.” He shook his head and stared at the dark-brown liquor in his glass. “Look, Montgomery, I don’t want it to happen, either, but there’s nothing I can do.”

“If there was a way to break the bond, would you do it?”

His face turned serious. “After all the pain and suffering and heartbreak I’ve been through?” His brow wrinkled and the corners of his emerald eyes pinched. “Hell yeah.”

I had found my new partner in crime.

Adrian went out for a smoke, leaving me at the bar, and when he came back in, a group of Royal girls stole him away. Not surprising at all. Kris and Domenico seemed to be letting loose and shaking off all the mourning. I sat alone at the bar until Vlad found me. He pointed to my glass of water. “Responsible teenager, huh?”

“Yep. That’s what I am.” I took a sip, letting the cool water with a hint of freshly squeezed lemon quench my thirst. “What about you? No alcohol before midnight?”

“Someone has to make sure everyone gets home safely.”

Vlad seemed different tonight, and I wondered if this was the real him or if he was putting on an act because he knew I was mourning Carlo.

“What’s with that look?”