Page 3 of Dragon Touched
Maybe I’ll get lucky and Lorenzo will fall over dead from a heart attack before the ceremony’s finished.Luck had never been something that had graced her life, though, unless it wasbadluck.
The large, gold-scrolled doors flew open, and Larue stumbled into the corner of the dresser.
“There’s my girl.” Her father, nicknamed “Vicious” Vito by enemies and friends alike, filled the opening, his presence powerful and demanding.
The staff froze, fear etched on their faces.
And this is why he rose so high in the underworld echelons. Everyone’s too scared to oppose him.
“Ready to do your part?” He beamed and held out the crook of an elbow.
“Not really,” she muttered under her breath. She took it and they walked down the hall to the Chapel, thirty feet away in the north wing of the mansion.
Her father, plagued with paranoia, had the religious sanctuary added to the estate several years ago, so he and his men wouldn’t have to appear in public for holy functions and ceremonies. Even though most of the men were sadistic tyrants, they held superstitious beliefs when it came to religion.
“What was that?” His voice hardened.
She knew that tone. “Nothing.” Her fate was sealed, and no amount of pleading, begging, or tantrums would change it.
When the Chapel doors opened, music poured through the hall.
Sounds more like a march for a funeral than a wedding. At least, it sure feels that way.
Blinding camera flashes left her vision with bursting stars on her retinas, and she stumbled. Soon, pictures of today would be streamed over Chicago media. Envisioning the image of Lorenzo sliding a ring on her finger, and its broadcast across the internet made her stomach flip.
She blinked to clear her vision and stared, unable to breathe. Her hand dropped from her father’s arm, and her feet felt like two concrete slabs.
Vito’s hair, thin and black with sparkles of silver, glistened in the natural light. His hard face was stern but showed traces of a smile. “You look beautiful, Sacha.”
Someone gave her a hard push from behind, and she wanted to turn around and slap them across the cheek.
Instead, she grabbed onto to her father’s proffered arm and stopped the forward momentum. She didn’t want to fall on her face and sprawl on the floor, the moment forever caught in time on the front page of theChicago Tribune.
Pops would kill me.
“You do our family proud.” He patted her cheek and seemed unaware she hung on his arm to break the fall.
There was a lump in her throat, and the threat of hot tears caused her to blink several times. “Pops, please don’t make me—”
“Shush.” Though he nodded at the standing, smiling crowd of onlookers and the news media, a corner of his mouth turned down when he spoke. “Enough, Sacha. I don’t want to hear any more arguments. This is your purpose in life. Embrace it and move on. Do you know how many girls dream of something like this?”
Why do people think this is every girl’s dream?
She bit back a sarcastic reply.No girl in her right mind would pine after a pimple-popping, gross old fat guy for a husband.
With her father’s iron grip on her skin, she walked the aisle. The small diamonds sewn into the dress caught the light streaming through the stained-glass windows of the chapel. A myriad of rainbows danced around the large hall like little sprites; free, happy, and dazzling—the exact opposite of what she felt. Surely there was some way out of this nightmare.
Chapter 2
Fin Marin
Onelong,blackboottapped against the stone of the topmost tower’s windowsill. Finley’s gaze locked on the sprawling mansion miles away. In the late afternoon light, its plush, perfect lawns, flowing fountains, and cheery façade set his teeth on edge and made him want to tear something apart.
“Your time is coming, old man,” he growled.
Rage swam in his veins like a dark undercurrent. Unable to hold the anger in any longer, he jerked an arm and pointed the index finger at the top of a tree. A weak line of fire flew from the tip and singed green leaves.
He closed his eyes in ecstasy, imagining the face always haunting his nightmares, but the moment didn’t last long, and the fury returned. Disgust welled inside, and he still felt the need to lash out at the family who’d turned his world upside down when he was a teenager.
