Page 22 of King of Ruin

One of my support beams is missing, and without it, it’s only a matter of time.

Tick-tock.

Tick-tock.

In tune with Kilo’s monitor, the clock ticks. It’s only because he’s awake and the constant sounds beeping steadily that I haven’t crumbled into the seas raging beneath.

“Mad Maddy, she’s here.” One of my runners sticks his blond head inside the door and motions behind him with a swollen thumb. “She’s alone, unarmed. No one followed.”

I nod, hopping over to Kilo’s bed and sit on the edge. I hear Shi make a disapproving sound in her throat but I ignore it. The man is literally only using two-thirds of the bed, he can spare the end.

“Let her in,” I tell him, drawing my dagger from my right boot.

As I wait for the girl to enter, I play with it in my hand. It was once something I did to intimidate but has somehow become a grounding mechanism.

The door opens again, and this time a frail girl steps inside. Immediately I see the resemblance she has to her brother–dark hair, tan skin, gems for eyes. Her sweater is oversized, hanging off one of her delicate shoulders, but the dinginess of the hem says she’s been wearing it longer than she should be.

Her timid eyes flash around the room, bouncing from me, to Shi, then stop at Kilo.

“You.” I hear the soft whisper of Kilo’s cracked voice. Sonowhe can speak.

Turning my head enough for him to know I’m addressing him, I ask for elaboration, “you know this one?”

In my periphery, he nods. “She’s the one who let the girls out.”

“Girls?” Shi inquires.

“My comrade here isn’t in the best state to do any explanation, so please, Fiona, fill us in.”

The girl’s throat bobs with a hard swallow. “Yes, of course. May I sit?”

I tilt my head to the side, curiosity lifting my brows. It’s unlike most people to want to sit down in a room when they’re alone. Most of them want to have a clear shot to the door in case things go south. She must know it doesn’t matter either way.

“Of course,” Shi says, leaving Kilo’s side for the first time today and moving one of the uncomfortable hospital chairs toward her.

Fiona nods her thanks and sits, crossing her legs at the ankle.

“How old are you?” I can’t help but ask. She’s so small. So unbroken. I don’t remember ever looking like her, not even before I was swept away by the Murphy’s.

“Nineteen. I’ll be twenty next week.” She tucks a stray lock of hair behind her ear and lets her eyes flash behind me to Kilo. “Is he going to be okay?”

I shrug, leaning forward, twisting the knife counterclockwise. “Let’s talk about these ‘girls’.”

Fiona chews on her bottom lip, her gaze moving between my hands, Kilo, and the standard round clock hanging above his bed. “Okay. But then I must hurry and tell you what I came for because I only have an hour.”

My eyes widen as I stretch my arms out. “By all means.Start.”

She swallows again, then begins. She tells us about the night she went out with Z and saw a van, let out women, and later found out they were property of the Murphys. She then goes on to explain how she was taken by them for the debt and Z was instructed to come work for Onyx as a bodyguard in order to tunnel secrets back to Phineas. But he wasn’t doing such a great job because the big guy paid her a visit and spilled the beans on being Z’s daddy. Told her he’d have his army rape her while he watched.

The more she talks, the angrier I become. Angry, because I should have looked deeper into Z. Livid, because I led him to Onyx myself. Hurt, because I cared about him.Trustedhim. And pissed, because I thought he’d be the one to save her. Not kill her.

My limbs are shaking by the time she finishes her story, and before I know what I’m doing, white dots decorate my sight and propel my feet forward. I’m behind the small girl and have her throat pressed against my blade before she gets her scream out.

Kilo sits straighter, the arm not riddled with tubes, outstretched toward me. “Maddy.”

“Tell me, Fiona.” I nuzzle my face in her neck before skimming my nose along the column until I reach her ear. She smells like fresh strawberries. “Tell me why I shouldn’t use you like Phineas did, huh? Keep you locked away and have your brother return our Queen for your life?”

“Because I’m only insurance to them,” she squeaks, her entire body vibrating the chair as she trembles against my tight hold. “They don’t fully trust my brother, so they still have a guard watching me.”

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