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I grind my teeth together until the physical pain makes itself known. “Fuck. You.”
A dark chuckle leaves him, and he stares for a long moment.
“I barely poked the edge of your mind just now, Little L, and—” he snaps his fingers “—open sesame.Are you sure you’re one of us? A defective Gifted maybe, the fates trying to apologize for allowing the spawn of the infamous Slasher to live? ’Cause I gotta say, daughter of Acheros Lacroix, that was as easy as manipulating a human.” Met with silence, he continues. “I know you’ve been gone a long time, Villaina, but—”
“Do not call me that.”
His eyes narrow and he steps forward, his body half through the red barrier and half out. “But you are Villaina Lacroix. There is no denying that fact.”
“I’m denying nothing, but Villaina died a long time ago.” I hold his gaze steady despite the fucked-up shit going on in my head. Like a mass pileup on the highway, it’s pure fucking chaos. “Just ask your mother.”
Sinner’s facial expression goes blank, and I know I struck a nerve.
“Watch yourself, ice princess, and get ready. You’ve only just entered the gates of fucking hell.” Sinner pins me with a derisive look and his meaning cannot be misinterpreted, not that the words were necessary. “Just wait until you see what’s inside.”
Sinner stalks off, anger rolling off him in waves and I sink farther to the floor.
I might have been gone a long time, but even I know what happens next isn’t anything good.Even so, I can’t bring myself to care about tomorrow, because I have to focus on the single thought that’s holding me together tonight.
These spilled secrets and the consequences of keeping them have been absolute shit for me, yes, but it’s no picnic for the Dark Royals of Rathe either.
It’s a small victory, if you can even call it that, but it’s all I have.
So, I’ll take it, hold it close, and hope that tomorrow, I’ll find another reason to live … or the quickest way to die.
Whichever comes first.
Two
Knight
Hate runsthrough your blood hotter than any other emotion. It was inevitable that where she and I were concerned, it would never come easily. Nothing meant for me was ever going to come easy. I’d have to rip it from its home and squeeze the life from it. Make it beg. Crawl. Yearn for me. She was no fucking different, so I don’t know why I’m surprised that she is who she is.
“You gonna finish that, or what?” Silver asks from opposite me, his legs spread wide and his glass half empty of whatever poison he’s drinking tonight.
I needed it. More than ever.
Bringing the rim of my drink to my lips, I let the liquid burn its way down my throat. It was her. All a-fucking-long it was her. I should be mad. Fuck, I am mad… but the more time goes on, the more the dulling ache turns into a ball of fire, and the pain I feel in my chest has nothing to do with the betrayal of finding out she killed my triplet. Nothing. It’s that she’s not here, with me, on my lap and on my dick.
What kind of bullshit is that?
“Knight!” Silver taps my foot with his, just as I sink the rest of my drink.
Dark powder lines the table between us, and every time the strobe light flickers in the background, it hits the small glitter particles in the Fae dust. The darker the dust, the stronger the magic, and this shit is pitch-black.
I hiss at my best friend, baring my teeth. “What?”
“Goddamn…” He leans back in his chair, and I watch as he moves over his shoulder and grabs one of the dragon waiters by the waist, pulling her down onto his lap. As he shifts her long blue hair off her shoulder, her eyes turn to slits as they land on me. Silver smirks as he whispers in her ear and she hurries off, snatching a few empty glasses on her way back to the bar.
It’s no surprise that The Dungeon is patched up far better than it was after the explosion. Crimson burns against stone pavement cracks, flowing down from the lava waterfall that rolls over the wall behind the bar.
I rest my head back against the headboard, desperate for an out. Anything to take my mind off the last twenty-four hours.
The ceiling is void of any cover, giving a direct view of the dark night up above. Planets illuminate against the onyx-colored backdrop. I wonder how loud I need to scream for one of the gods to come down and fuck my shit up.
“Don’t even fucking think about it, Legend.” I can feel my brother’s ideas from here. He wants me balls deep in a distraction and to renounce the bond I have with London.
“So, you’re good with her being your mate? Someone who fucking murdered our sister?”
