“Are you okay, Soph?” Tish asks. “I mean, besides your broken nose.”
I sit on the couch, curling my legs under me and holding a pillow against my lap. Now that I’m alone with Tish, I can drop the walls protecting me. “So much has happened. I don’t know where to begin.”
“You look so sad.”
I avoid her gaze, choosing to focus on the pattern of my pillow. “It’s not sadness. I’m bloody angry.”
“Who made you angry? Surely not Mr. Cutie Pie. You two looked pretty into each other.”
Her mentioning Vaughn brings a smile to my lips. “He was the only bright spot in the evening.”
“Good. But tell me who I need to cut.”
“How are you going to cut anyone? You don’t have opposable thumbs.” I smirk. Bantering with Tish always makes me feel better.
“I don’t need fingers. I have my claws.”
“Unfortunately, the person you’d want to turn into shreds is already dead.”
She cocks her head. “Are you talking about Boone?”
A shiver runs down my spine. I close my eyes, trying to forget the memory of that vicious attack. “Yes. He’s the one who hurt me before I went into hibernation.”
“No…”
I look at her. “I finally remembered everything. He beat me to an inch of my life, and he—” I get choked up and can’t finish the sentence.
“That fucking bastard!” Tish’s eyes spark with fury. I don’t need to spell it out that Boone raped me for her to know. “Hell. Now I kind of hate Lucca a little bit for killing that worthless piece of shit before I had the chance.”
I shake my head. “I don’t. I’m glad he’s no longer around to hurt anyone else.”
“Are you going to tell your father?”
“I don’t see the point. The asshole is dead.”
“Yes, but at least knowing the truth might stop your father from killing Lucca out of misguided revenge.”
“I don’t think he’d abandon his plan. The revenge part is only an excuse.”
“Why do you say that?”
“He hasn’t contacted Enya in months. She had no idea I was out of hibernation.”
“Whoa. That’s strange for sure. He used to be the queen’s right hand.”
I nod. “He told me he had been denied access to Queen Tatiana.”
Tish begins to pace. “And he wants you to take her place. It sounds to me like he’s planning a coup.”
My stomach clenches, and I hug the pillow tighter. “I think so too. The truce between Queen Tatiana and King Raphael was real, and it still stands.”
“King?” Tish stops pacing suddenly. “Since when do you consider him to be the king?”
I sigh. “After what I learned tonight, I can’t call him ‘usurper king’ any longer.”
“Wow.” She looks at me, startled.
“And there’s more. Did you know Queen Tatiana was engaged to King Raphael and the reason for the war was because he called the wedding off?”
