Page 98 of Queen of Diamonds

I’d drawn the queen of diamonds, and it had led me to my mate.

I stepped through the doors into the vast theatre to find her. Beautiful and tragic, she was chained to a hook on the ground, straining to turn toward me. Before her, lounging in a chair like a king on a throne, was Ace.

My brother. Every hair on my body stood on end as I stepped in, not lowering my weapon.

Ace looked unarmed, but I wouldn’t be fooled. My gaze darted to the side, but the lighting in the room was exclusive to the stage, and I couldn’t see anything. I reached to my ear, pressing the button on my comms so it was open for my pack to hear.

“Brother.” Ace’s voice carried easily across the space as he spread his arms. In one hand, he held a black device—the microphone he’d been using to taunt us through the building’s intercoms. “I hoped it would be you.”

With another step, I took her in properly. She was gagged, and wore a red dress that dipped low upon her back, revealing… my heart tripped.

Her back was covered in scars. Old wounds she must have had for a long time. Deep enough I could see them from here. They seemed to form a deliberate pattern or shape. I took a step forward, unable to understand what it was, but Glade let out a wounded sound, throwing herself against the chains, eyes wide as she twisted desperately toward me.

She shook her head, tears tumbling down her cheeks.

It broke me seeing her like that. My pulse picked up, instincts threatening to steal me away, but I warred with them, knowing I needed to keep my head.

I knew the risk. I knew how vulnerable I was as I stepped out from beneath the balconies above and into the huge room.

Ace wouldn’t be here alone.

But I had a gun trained on him, and he knew my aim was true.

“Name what you want.” I forced my voice steady. “Let her go.”

“What I want from you?” Ace laughed. “What could you possibly offer? The night our father called you into his study for the last time, you handed me all you would ever be worth.”

I took another step, mind racing.

What did that mean?

“Three months?” My father was furious. “Three months since Kyan failed his assignment to kill Lily Romano. Since you convinced me to wait before taking action.”

I stared at him, working through the answer I hadn’t been prepared to give him. Lily was her birth name, but she was Glade to me. The name she’d chosen to hide her identity while we courted her. A name just for us.

“You waited three months to bring this truth to me?” my father asked. “You scent-matched her?”

I gritted my teeth, weighing my options, but he knew already. “We decided to…” I faltered on the word ‘court’. He wouldn’t react well to that. “To convince her to take our side.”

“You… what?”

“She’s ready to accept an offer of alliance.”

“Accept…?” He cocked his head, lips drawn in a flat line as he examined me, fury spiking in his eyes. I took a breath, cooling my nerves.

That had been a mistake. I had to tread more carefully. “We need her father on board. Now, she can?—”

“Need?” my father asked.

“If we want an alliance with the Romanos,” I said carefully. We did, but I’d hit a nerve. Joshua Maverick was a prideful man.

“You think your own family is too weak for a war?”

“I want us to be as strong as we can be.”

He sneered, getting to his feet. “And you believe we need a Romano whore’s help for that?”

My anger flared at those words, but I bit my tongue, mind racing, searching for a way to calm him.

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