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“Get your hands off of me,” I gripe, snapping my arm from River’s firm grasp. “I’m not a damn criminal. I simply told her something she didn’t want to hear.”
“I don’t blame her. It’s a lot of information to have dumped on her in one day.”
“Well, too damn bad,” I screech. “Isn’t that how the mother-daughter relationship is supposed to work? I’m getting caught up for a lifetime of moments just like this.”
I’m not sure where the anger is coming from, but it’s building by the second. Not that I don’t have a million and one reasons to be angry.
I have a mother and a father that were kept from me my entire life. The man I love forced me to come here, to uncover that on my own. My mother just made her thoughts onwhoI love very clear, by throwing herself to the ground. And the one person I know here and had hoped would be my ally is currently glaring down at me, as though I knocked out his beloved queen with my own bare hands.
“You know, River, if I had any plans of following through with the sham of a marriage with you, this would be one epic strike against you.”
“And why is that, princess?”
“You’re a turncoat, just like the angels.”
“I’m not. I’ve always been on the queen’s side. You’ll have my loyalty when your marks don’t include Camille.”
“Ugh. You’re so transparent. Get a life, River. She isn’t yours. She promised you to her daughter, for Heaven’s sake. Which—news flash—is me!”
“I’m not going to dignify that with an answer.”
“Too late. You speak, you lose.”
His eyes roll back into his head, entirely too melodramatically. “For the damn record, your jealousy is ridiculous, considering you’ve made it abundantly clear that a marriage between us isn’t going to happen. So, like I said, my allegiance is still to my queen.”
That’s fair, I suppose, but I won’t admit it out loud. He’ll have to pry like usual to uncover my acceptance of his allegiances.
“Noted, princess. I’ll continue to pry away.”
“Ugh!” I groan. “You can start calling me Your Highness,” I say, sounding like a hoity-toity brat but unable to stop myself.
This reaper grates on my nerves and boils my blood, almost as well as Lucifer himself did when he reappeared.
“I can find my way back to my room. Unless you plan to lock me in a cage? Jail me? Since I must’ve permanently scarred your precious queen,” I continue to taunt, pressing my luck if River’s severe stare is any indication.
He takes a deep breath. “You’ve both had a long day, Victoria. Maybe you should head back to your room and get some rest.”
The fight bleeds out of me at the mention of how long a day it’s been. Exhaustion sweeps over me and suddenly, rest sounds like precisely what I need. “I don’t know the way back, but yes. I’d like to rest.”
“I think she can help you with that,” he says, motioning toward someone behind me.
I turn around to find Leanna standing with her arms crossed looking agitated, which leaves the door open for me to poke the bear.
“What are you? My personal angelic chauffeur?”
She doesn’t say a word but cuts me with a glacial scowl. So I continue on with my aggravation.
“Since when do you run errands for reapers?”
I manage to sound like a snotty child, but it can’t be helped. I came to the reaper kingdom a strong warrior and have regressed to an infant with lackluster jabs.
In all fairness to me, I was never allowed to be a child. Guess I’m making up for it now.
I need to get the hell out of here.
It’s making me entirely too pathetic.
Leanna shakes her head. “Glad to see you’re not in denial, Victoria.” She turns to River. “Got any of that melatonin stuff that humans drug their kids with? Really, any sleeping concoctions will work.”
