Page 59 of King of Ruin

“You’re a grown man now. Rectify that please.”

“Sure. I’ll make you some.”

This actually makes me chuckle. “If it’s anything like your bacon, I may have to pass.”

“It’s kept you alive, has it not?”

“Debatable,” I guffaw, shifting back to lean against him. “Your plan. Tell me.”

He blows out a heavy breath. “I’ll only tell you one part at a time so that this isn’t over too quickly.”

“You didn’t do that with the last question. Don’t change the agreement now.”

Kane nips at the shell of my ear. “Because that was about your family. They are not some bargaining chip for information.”

“Yet the plan that’s meant to save me is?” I bite, ignoring the flutter in my stomach.

“Maybe a little. So choose your questions carefully.”

“I can’t believe I am letting you do this.”

I feel him smile against my neck as he runs his nose along the column. I shudder despite the warmth surrounding me. “Because you like answering questions no one has ever dared to ask.”

Ignoring the truth in his words, I mull over my question and attempt to keep my body from its traitorous shivering as he continues to nuzzle against me. “When will everything happen?”

“Tomorrow afternoon.”

I jolt upright, but am yanked back so forcefully hard, water splashes over the side of the tub. “And you haven’t told Madeline? How do you expect her to move an army so quickly?”

“You don’t think she can?”

His words sober me quickly and I slam my teeth closed, a sharp pain shooting across my jaw. “Well, yes, but still, Kane. When will you tell her? What—”

“What’s something you miss doing?”

“Wh—I—” A growl vibrates my chest as I throw my hands up. “Kane, I need you to prioritize what’s most important.”

“It’s asking a lot, believe me, I know. But I need you to trust me, Onyx.”

I try to speak, to tell him how impossible that would be even without the pretense of everything that’s already transpired between us, but he shakes his head. There’s a plea in his green eyes I can’t ignore. It’s a deep, honest vulnerability I’ve only ever seen once.

It was when my mother asked me to stay put under the seats of our limo. When she asked me to avenge their deaths, just before allowing herself to be slaughtered in the street.

I swallow around the burn and nod slightly. Even if I can’t trust him, I can listen to him.

“Within the first thirty seconds of meeting you, I knew this wouldn’t be easy. That knowing you even beyond your name would put it all at jeopardy. My family, my freedom. My end.”

His voice deepens, and despite the growing ache in my chest, I remain quiet, waiting for him to work through his words. “I want to know everything about the woman I’m giving up everything for. Even the most minuscule of details that I can think of as I sit on top of the rubble and reign king of the ruins, and smile.” Kane shifts, stroking my hair again. “Please, Boss. Can you give me that?”

A prickle stings deep behind my eyes as I nod yet again. I clear my throat and tell him what it is I miss the most.

“My parents. I miss painting my mom’s toes and helping my father balance a budget. Running through the estate and hiding from the boys.” The burning ache expands, creeping down my face and into my chest. Thinking and speaking of them so freely feels as though I’m resurfacing a long forgotten happiness that’s been buried beneath the anger and hatred.

“I miss helping my mother trim the stupid roses that I later fertilized with my father’s latest victim. Oh, and the art. I once thought myself an artist and painted the most horrendous mural on my mother’s shed, and it stayed up long after her passing. It was Madeline who told me the truth.”

I feel my cheeks rise as a smile takes over my face. But oddly, now that I’ve begun recalling memories I haven’t thought about in years, I can’t help but continue. It’s as if a door has swung open, and the contents within are spilling out.

“Teasing the new guards and watching my mother and father from the top of the stairs as they danced in the foyer under the chandelier. Sitting on the kitchen counter and watching them bake.They couldn’t keep their hands off one another longer than a few minutes.”

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