Page 170 of Monsters Wear Crowns
I looked down at her face, noticing her skin was turningtoopale. Her breathing, too shallow. I gritted my teeth and pressed my fingers to her cheek. “Adela,” my voice cracked, my control slipping. “Please, baby,open your eyes.”
Nothing.
A sharp, crushing pressure clamped down on my chest. All the power I’d built, the fear I commanded, the empire I’d created–none of it mattered. Not if she didn’t survive this.
I bent my head, pressing my lips to her forehead. “I love you.” The words slipped out, raw and unguarded.
Her fingers twitched.
My heartstopped.
A whisper, so faint I almost didn’t catch it. “…Nightmare.”
A breath of laughter broke from my throat–half-sob, half-prayer. I buried my face in her damp hair, arms locking around her like I could hold her to this earth. She was on death’s fucking doorstep but still had the energy for our inside joke. “Yeah, baby,” I murmured against her temple. “I’m your fucking nightmare.”
And I wasn’t letting her go.
***
ADELA
Everythinghurt. A dull, throbbing ache spread through my body, pulling me back from the darkness. My head felt heavy, my limbs sluggish. I was moving–no, I wasbeing carried.
Rafe.
I could feel him. The warmth of his body, the strength of his arms wrapped around me. The rhythmic pounding of his heart against my cheek. I forced my eyes open, but the world was a blur of motion and rain.
His voice cut through my confusion, sharp with desperation. “Stay with me. Please, baby.”
I tried to speak, but my lips wouldn’t move. Everything feltslow, like I was sinking into a deep and endless abyss. The next time I surfaced, I was in a car, pressed against him. There were hands on me–Kieran’s, trying to stop the bleeding. I could hear the urgency in their voices, but I was floating just beyond reach. Then I heard it.
“I love you.”
I almost sobbed. I didn’t know if Iimaginedit. If my brain, deprived of blood and oxygen, was playing some cruel trick on me. But then I felt him–his lips against my forehead, his grip tightening as ifwillingme to stay. I fought against the weight pulling me under. But…
***
I woke to the sound of rain tapping softly against glass.I wasn’t dead. Thank fuck.
The realization came slowly. The pain was still there, butdistant, dulled by whatever drugs were coursing through my veins.Those lovely drugs.I blinked up at the ceiling, recognizing the dim glow of the Orchard House bedroom. Someone moved at my side. I turned my head, and there he was.
Rafe sat in the chair beside the bed, elbows on his knees, hands clasped together, staring at me. He lookedwrecked. Dark circles carved beneath his eyes, his jaw locked so tight it looked painful.
“You’re awake.” His voice was rough, like he hadn’t used it in hours.
“Unfortunately,” I rasped.
Relief flashed across his face. He reached for me, his fingers hesitantly brushing my cheek. Like he was afraid he’d hurt me just by his touch. “You scared the shit out of me,” he muttered.
I swallowed. “You scare the shit out of meall the time.”
A small, humorless laugh left him. “Fair.”
For a moment, we just stared at each other. Then I asked the question that had been lingering in the back of my mind since that rooftop. “What happens now?”
Rafe’s expression darkened. “Moreau’s gone. His empire will inevitably collapse. There’ll be fallout, but I’ll handle it.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
