Chapter 100

Summer’s POV The cool blast of air conditioning hit my face as we stepped off the plane at Crescent Valley Regional Airport, a stark contrast to the warm Portuguese climate we'd left behind. I instinctively tightened my grip on Aria's small hand, feeling her excitement vibrate through our connected palms. "Mama, are we really in America now?" Aria's bright eyes, so eerily like her father's, gazed up at me with wonder. I forced a smile, swallowing down the anxiety that had been building since we boarded the flight in Lisbon. "Yes, sweetie. This is where Mama grew up." Five years. It had been five long years since I'd set foot on North American soil. Five years since the day I plunged over that cliff, since Aurora sacrificed herself to save me and the tiny life growing inside me. Five years of building a new identity as far from Alexander Blackwood as possible. And now here I was, less than thirty miles from Blackwood territory. "Why are you squeezing my hand so tight?" Aria asked, tryin