Page 76 of Vicious Kingdom

I made it to her room without interruption.

I wasn’t sure what I was looking for, but I knew I would see it when I found it.

Starting with the shelves, I scanned the titles. There was an endless collection of books here. If she’d read all of these, she probably hadn’t done much else in her short life. Each shelf was decorated with trinkets. Some were bookmarks, others art pieces. There were rocks and bobbles, pressed flowers trapped between sheets of plastic and little notes captured in tiny frames.

I moved to her desk, pressed against the foot of her bed. I would never say I had OCD, but looking down at the clutter, my heartbeat doubled. There was no rhyme or reason to the mess. Yet I assumed that if I asked for a specific sheet of paper, Annaliese would easily be able to pluck it from the piles.

Something about her closet called to me.

Wandering over, I stared into the abyss of clothes. Just a little bit ago, I tasted her lips…right there. On that spot.

I flicked on the light and stepped inside but paused at the vanity tucked into the array of hanging skirts. It was small, not a central part of her life.

On top was a jewelry box. There were a few gems, but the majority were comical pieces compared to the glittering society ladies normally wore. A half-heart, with the letters BFF, was worn so badly that the colored metal was fading.

Where had I seen that before?

I frowned.

The other half wasn’t there.

Most of the pieces were heart-shaped, however. Hearts and moons, suns and stars. It was funny that I couldn’t seem to remember Annaliese wearing any of these.

The handle on the door twisted.

I poked my head out, a delicious anticipation of being caught by the room’s inhabitant thrumming in my veins.

When the smug face appeared, the inner switch flipped to annoyance.

Jonatan pulled himself up to his full height. Whatever was wrong with him in the office was toned way down. He looked the same imperious man I’d seen on the patio, minus the girls.

“You have no business in here,” he sneered.

“Actually, I do.” I stepped out of her closet, shutting the door behind me.

“This isn’t your room.”

The moment the other man put a foot forward, the beast in my chest growled in warning. He might be her blood, but the cousin seemed to defile the place with his presence. I couldn’t place the feeling, but something about him seemed toxic.

Just another spoilt rich kid being groomed to take over the family business.

“You should leave,” I warned.

Jonatan crossed his skinny chicken arms over his chest. “This is her room.”

“And she’s going to be my wife. Technically, it’s mine now.” The glint of satisfaction in my words tripped the man into a frenzy.

“I can’t let you marry her!” he stepped forward, anger glinting in his eyes.

I barked a laugh. “A pretty little daddy’s boy like you can’t stop me.”

“Get out!” He reached for the nearest object, which of course was a book, and launched it at me.

I dodged and sprang forward.

Jonatan was quick, but not fast enough. I slammed him against the wall.

“Touch another one of her books, and you’ll be sorry,” I menaced.