Page 32 of Reigning
My small steps are drowned out by the thundering sound of four storming men behind me.
“Low, stop. You have a plan.” Chaos’ chest slams into me, pressing me into the door, and he cages me in with his arms like a rabid animal. “Just think. Take a breath. Calm down.”
“Youcalm down.” I shove pathetically at his big body, pushing my fingers at his face, beard, and ear, but it only makes him wrap me up in a constricting bear hug.
“You’ll get justice.” His lips brush the shell of my ear with every quiet word he says to me. “I know you can do this. You’re going to save so many lives. But not if you walk out this door.” His fingers tangle through my hair, and he kisses my temple, breathing me in and calming me just from the feel of his body holding mine.
My lashes flutter. The fury in my chest still burns, but the fight within me fades away. I lean into him with the full weight of my body, knowing he’s right.
I hate this. I hate that she keeps fucking with me and the people I love.
And I’m here. Waiting.
It truly is the worst torture.
Thirteen
Floppy Cocks
I’m teetering somewhereon the crumbling edge of justified genius and complete fucking psychopath.
I’m leaning real hard into that psychopath side: arms spread wide open, ready to fall into the bliss of chaotic rage.
“Did you rest well?” I ask the queen, sitting at her side, delicately sipping from a teacup over a dainty little breakfast this morning.
Ellise gives a small smile. And I’ve mimicked that smile, both of us looking like we’ve lost our fucking minds for over an hour now over a plate of delicious scrambled eggs.
Sinister arches a dark eyebrow at me from across the room, but I ignore all four of them.
I’m fine.
Are you, though?Chaos answers like the creep that he is in the back of my mind.
I grind my jaw and only spread that crazed smile wider at our queen.
“I slept very well after my long flight yesterday, thank you, Arlow.”
Her long flight.
Some women have petty passive-aggressive down to a subtle art form.
Ellise’s isn’t subtle. It’s a prestigious display put on for the whole damn world to see.
I purse my lips for a single second before the manic smile pulls harder.
She pauses with her fork of creamy eggs held near her lips, her emerald gaze shifting over my features in slow, sweeping passes. The fork lowers quietly.
“I think you and I are connecting. The longer you’re here, the more I feel…empowered just by your presence. Do you feel that?”
I nod. I’d nod no matter what she just said. Do I feel connected, severed, hungry, tired, a little over worked and underpaid?
Yes, all of the above.
Please get to the fucking point before this smile falls.
“In two days, I’m taking Minden.”
A garbled sound is my only reply as I choke on a bite of eggs with my plaster-face smile.
