Page 21 of Blood Queen

Relief floods my veins, making my limbs heavy. I move toward the bedroom, heart pounding harder than it should. Maybe he’s awake. Maybe he’ll pull me into his arms, let me forget—

I step into the doorway and freeze.

He’s asleep, starfish on his belly. His preferred sleeping pose.

But there’s a woman in his bed.

She’s tangled in his sheets, bare shoulders exposed, blonde hair fanned out on his pillow.

For a second, my brain refuses to understand what I’m seeing.

Then it hits me, like ice water through my veins, a blade through my ribs.

I suck in a breath—sharp, ragged—and it comes out broken. A sound I don’t recognize.

The woman stirs. Blinks up at me, bleary. “What the fuck—?”

I could kill her. So easily. So quickly. I could. My shoe would work fine. My bare hands. My teeth.

He shifts beside her. His dark lashes flutter, then his eyes open. My eyes lock on his as the woman starts screaming.

Sleepy.

Confused.

And then he sees me.

His body goes rigid. His gaze flicks to the woman beside him, then back to me.

“Stop screaming,” he yells over her shrieks.

For a long, suffocating moment, none of us move.

Then his jaw tightens. “You need to leave, Mara.”

The woman frowns, pushing up onto one elbow. “What?”

He is already sitting up, voice like a blade. “I saidget out.”

Her eyes flash with anger. “Are you serious? You—”

He doesn’t even look at her. His attention is locked on me, sharp and unreadable.

I don’t move.

Can’t move.

The woman huffs, muttering a curse as she scrambles out of bed, grabbing her clothes from the floor. She shoots me a glare on the way out, but I don’t register it.

The second the door slams shut behind her, I turn. Ready to leave, to pretend this never happened.

But he is faster.

“K—” His voice is low. Rough.

I flinch. “Don’t.”

His fingers close around my wrist—firm but gentle. “Why are you here?”

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