We were too close.
His hands were too close.
Only . . . I couldn’t pull away. I couldn’t break free.
I felt his finger trace the outer ridge of a scar, the raised skin forever damaged on my flesh. A location we both knew that he had memorized, even though it was entirely hidden from view. It was a scar I bore from the last time we were together willingly.
“You killed him.” My voice rose in a guttural scream as I stared at my former best friend. “You. Killed. Him.”
“I did what I had to for the Quarter.” Luc’s voice was a frustrated snarl as he paced before me.
“You did what you had to do foryou. You killed my father to please your own father,” I bit back as I glared at the male. “You killed him as your final act of loyalty to become king, and for that, I will never forgive you.” I turned my back on my friend, moving to leave the room when I felt his affinity wrap itself around me. I began thrashing, fighting against his hold as Luc came into view, towering above me.
“Your father was digging into things he had no right looking into.” His jaw ground as he stared down at me. “He was committing treason against his own king. What else would you have me do? Let disloyal people continue to fly free in Solis? I should have punished your whole family for your father’s crimes against the throne, but I didn’t. I spared them—I sparedyou.”
“You can’t be serious,” I snarled as I fought against his hold, finally finding just enough movement to grab the blade from my waist. “Let me go, Luc.”
“You don’t see now,” he replied, shaking his head. “But one day, you will. One day, you will understand why I had to do what I did.”
“I will never understand why,” I screamed as I threw my blade toward him. I watched as it flew across the space between us before halting mid-air, his affinity wrapped around it, as he turned it, and I watched, unable to move, as it flew back toward me.
“Consider this a reminder,” he stated, “of who is in control here.”
I’d barely made it out with my life. And now, Luc used that same scar to remind me of how disposable I was to him. Howworthlessmy life was compared to that of his, thekingof Solis Quarter.
My skin prickled with unease—the need to run, to hide, to protect myself crawling over me. His fingers halted then, his nails pressing in with a subtle strength that had a whimper escaping from my lips as a burst of phantom pain shot through the side of my stomach.
He smiled.
He. Fucking. Smiled.
“It seems that some reminders work better than others.”
I wouldn’t let him rattle me. I couldn’t afford to.
“You promised you wouldn’t hurt her, Luc. That was our bargain.” It took everything in me not to snap the words as fear and lingering remnants of pain flooded through me. I needed to know that Orela was safe. That after his threats the other day, he would still hold true to our deal.
“You’re right,Ipromised not to hurt her.”
Panic twisted with the fear already churning through me in tidal waves.
Stars-damn him.
But no. No. I’d made sure the terms of the bargain were clear. That there were no loopholes. Orela was safe; she had to be.
“Stop playing games with me, Luc. Our bargain was me in exchange for Orela. Her freedom and protection in exchange for my life.”
He nodded, his eyes lingering on me as the music flowed around us. “It was.”
That’s all? That’s everything he had to say on the matter?
“Then why are you threatening me regarding her safety?” I asked, staring at the male with whom I’d once played with as children, who had come over and watched movies with my family on weekends while his parents tended to royal business. Who had been one of the closest people to me for so long.
Someone I’d once considered a friend . . . perhaps evenmorethan a friend—a male I’d trusted, given my everything to.
“Threatening you?” His grip tightened in a vise-like hold. Another protesting whimper was forced from my lips as he chuckled—a dark, low sound that crawled across my neck. He leaned down and spoke in my ear. “Trust me,butterfly. You will know a threat when you see it . . . This isnota threat.”
I scoffed. I couldn’t help it. “You can’t be serious, Luc. What else would this be? It’s not like I could forget our bargain.” Iraised my wrist, brandishing the mark forever ingrained on my skin, the black X that indicated a deal had been struck between two angels. “The bargain was that you would protect her—protectus.And yet, you’re the only thing in this stars-damned Quarter hurting me.”
