Page 56 of His Queen

Shivers vibrate down my back.

“Maybe if you screamed, Momma and Poppa would still be alive.”

“Please.”

“Maybe if you screamed, I would still be alive!” His words slam against my chest, violent and brutal. I don’t know how to keep the tears back. I don’t want to cry, but he’s making it hard not to.

“Please, Marco. You’re scaring me.”

“You’re a coward.”

“No. Momma said I’m her brave little girl.”

“Brave?” he scoffs. “You call hiding under a bed being brave?”

“Why are you doing this?”

“Because I want you to open your eyes.”

A sudden gust of wind slices against my skin like glass, catapulting me backward and slamming me against a wall. “Open your eyes, Mirabella.”

“I won’t. I can’t.”

“Open them.”

“Why? Why do you want me to open my eyes?”

“Because you need to know.”

My chest tightens. “Know what?”

“Open your eyes and find out.”

I’m clutching my stomach. It hurts, and I feel sick. It’s becoming harder to keep my eyes shut, but I can’t open them. I won’t break my promise.

“Open your eyes and see the truth.”

“I don’t want to,” I cry, tasting my tears.

“He’s going to hurt you again, Mirabella.”

Pain sears across my cheek, stars exploding and burning through the darkness. My ears ring, the metallic tang of blood coating the inside of my mouth.

“He’s hurting you! Open your fucking eyes!”

“No. No. No,” I whimper, my thoughts scattered within the throbbing ache in my head. “I don’t want to see.”

“Open them!” he screams, and a strong blast of wind lifts my feet off the ground. I’m being thrown through the air until air bursts from my mouth, and I’m slammed face-first into something hard. My teeth clatter. My bones break. The pain is excruciating, cutting through my skin as pressure slices through my scalp.

“Look,” Marco whispers, and I feel him touch my temple. “He made you bleed. You’re bleeding, Mirabella. Look. Your blood is on my hands. Or is it my blood that’s on your hands?”

“I don’t…I can’t. I’m tired, Marco.” My shoulders slump, the floor hard beneath my broken body. “Please stop.”

“Not until you open your eyes. Come on, little sister. He’s coming for you. Open your eyes and fight.”

“I can’t.”

“Yes! You! Can!” A sonic boom blasts from his words, his never-ending scream raging through me like a vicious cyclone, pressing me harder into the ground. It’s so loud and angry, it vibrates against my eardrums. I can’t think clearly with all the noise. They’re drowning me, making it hard to breathe.

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