Page 60 of Queen of Madness

I haven’t done well when they’re mentioned, which is one of the reasons my uncle has yet to let me leave the house besides laying my parents to rest. But now, as I climb into the Jeep, he doesn’t stop me.

We speed through the city, four cars following behind us as my uncle gets updates on his phone. The men on the other side have all been killed but one, and four of our employees are dead. The few women alive are all in need of immediate medical attention but they suspect none of them will make it with the blood loss.

My adrenaline skyrockets as we near the port, my hands growing clammy despite the stone exterior I put on for my uncle. He whips the Jeep around the corner and into an alley before parking.

“Stay here. I’ll have guards watch you while I clean up the mess.”

I nod, not wanting to argue. For one, I can admit I need more time before I risk getting injured by some lowlife when I have much bigger men to behead. Second, I don’t want him to regret and add another reason as to why he keeps me locked away in the estate. And also, I think this may be a test like I’m sure the woman that’s probably being ground into rose fertilizer was too.

I’m only alone for about a minute before one of my men yells for me to get in the front. Before I jump between the seats, I turn and see him running closer, a frail, limp body in his arms. Red frizzy strands fly out in every direction.

“She’s alive,” he tells me. I don’t go to the front, but do stand, allowing him space to lay her across the back seat. “I’ll be right back with your uncle. Please don’t move, Miss Embros.”

I nod but don’t look at him. Instead, my eyes trail down the battered woman in front of me. Her small face is covered in bruises and small cuts, and her body appears like the aftermath of pictures you’ve seen of victims found in the woods.

“What’s your name?” I kneel down, brushing her wild hair away from her face. There’s blood pouring from the cuts to her arms and thighs, and I wonder how she’s even conscious.

She’s a fighter.

“Why is a raven”—her head falls to the side, and she coughs, excreting a mix of phlegm and blood—“like a writing desk?”

Her last words are only a whisper as her eyes flutter closed. My heart sinks. The notion that the poor girl can’t be much older than me and has been subjected to the worst of fates weighs heavily on my soul.

Girls like her are the reason Embros Hearts was founded, and I hate that I can’t save her.

Still, I lean down, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead, keeping my voice low. “Because it can produce a few notes.”

When I back away, the first tear I’ve cried in years spills over the edge. It’s a lone drop of wetness, but when it falls onto the girl’s wide smile, I can’t say I regret it.

Twirling a stray curl around a finger, I skip outside. It’s mostly sunny, so I don’t anticipate seeing Onyx. But since I keep her company on Z’s days off, I decide to surprise her with a bouquet of roses.

I wave hello to a few of the guards walking around and pass by the bushes flourishing with white roses.

They’re so pretty, even more so than the red, but since her mother’s death, she refuses to look at them. The only reason she doesn’t rip the bushes down is because they were her mother’s in the first place. Still, I stop and admire them, running a finger over the soft dewy petals.

“Such a pretty little thing. Unstained and vibrant.”

“Funny to hear someone admire them.”

I spin around, my heels tearing up the dirt as I turn and meet the light eyes of Z. The dimple in his cheek deepens as he finds amusement in my moment of surprise. I press a hand to my chest. “Why are you here? Shouldn’t you be enjoying your day off?”

He shrugs, brushing past my shoulder and snapping a petal from the rose I was touching. “Is it bad that I like being here more than being at home?”

“No. Embros estate is comparable to a place like a wonderland, I’d imagine.” I gesture to the grounds, full of greenery. The huge house, surrounded by gardeners and guards walking around the forest’s border. “It’s full of wild people, and only the brave dare to wander here.”

His eyes linger on the sight before him, but after a moment his smile fades, and the corners turn down. His shoulders drop as he swallows, forcing his gaze away. “It’s nothing I expected, that’s for sure.”

“And what did you expect?” I take a step forward, waiting until he follows before walking deeper into the maze of rose bushes. I find a lone bench and take a seat, patting the empty wood next to me.

He sits, still in some type of mood I can’t quite decipher. “I thought things would be cut and dry.”

Things. A check? Guarding her? I want to ask him but decide to let him take his time. I can tell by the way his lips divot from him chewing the inside that he’s weighing his words carefully.

“I guess I figured it would just be another job. A higher paying one, but a job no less. I didn’t expect to like the people here. Find good breakfast conversation. Or find a woman who consumes an uncomfortable amount of my headspace.”

I wag my finger at him and find myself oddly relieved when his smile returns. “Ah, so there it is. It’s the Boss.”

He shakes his head, dismissing my comment. “She’s this never-ending conundrum I want to figure out. Nothing more.”

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