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“What about in two weeks?” Charming says hurriedly, making his wife’s jaw clench hard. It’s nice to see Cinder isn’t throwing her step-sister at her husband, but I know it’s because she wants to keep her for herself.

“Fine, fine. Drizella, do you accept the invitation to dinner?” Cinder asks formally, forcing Silla to respond or be considered insolent.

“Yes, of course, I’ll be there. May I bring guests?” she asks. That’s my Kitten. There’s no Godsdamned way that she’s going alone.

“You may bring Ayden and Grayson,” Cinder says with a wave of her hand. “Good bye, Drizella.”

“Your Majesty,” she murmurs, inclining her head. “Your Highness.”

The video call disconnects, but not before I see the spark of triumph in Charming’s eyes. The man is up to something.

A fist slamming on the dining room table makes Silla and I look up. Falcon’s livid face is the first thing I see and I turn the phone to show that Cinder hung up.

“First of all, you absolutely will not be hopping on my dick on that woman’s command. If it happens, it’ll be for an entirely different reason other than duty,” he growls. “Second of all, I want in on whatever plan you’ve been cooking up to kill that bitch. Fuck being peaceful, this woman needs to fucking die.”

Looks like we broke the pacifist after all.

Sixteen

SILLA

“Ithought I was known for truth bombs, but what?” I ask. My nerves are shot after that call, and I’m still shaking.

“Silla, come here,” Grayson mutters, coming over and scooping me into his arms. He’s not usually someone who babies me, so I must look like shit. “Whatever you’re thinking, stop. I need snuggles, because I wanted to reach through the phone for how those two treat you.”

The front door to the apartment slams open, making me flinch with a gasp. I’m really twitchy right now, and my body feels as if it’s vibrating.

“I wasn’t gone for very long,” Sidney complains as he shuts the door. “What happened?”

His hands are filled with bags, and Andrya snorts as she goes to help him.

“Cinder and Charming called,” Ayden explains, watching me as Grayson gets comfortable on the couch with me cuddled against his chest. “It was weird though, because Charming kept insisting that Silla come to the castle for dinner. The way he kept looking at her was really gross. He was leering.”

“I had to say yes,” I whisper, wrapping my arms around myself. “I can’t… I won’t survive if something happens again.”

Kenzo walks over to kneel in front of me. Fisting his hands together, I can tell he wants to touch me, but I can’t handle it right now.

“That’s not going to happen, Mistress,” he says as if it’s the most natural thing in the world. “I’m serious, we can infiltrate her staff. I’ve done it before, I have a reason now to do it again.”

“Are you seriously in, dog boy?” Ayden asks, sitting next to me to rub the back of my hand gently. “Breathe, Kitten. We’re going to figure this out. You’re not going into that castle without a plan.”

Nodding, I force air into my lungs again. “That’s it. No matter what, you keep breathing with us,” Grayson rumbles into my ear.

Gods, why is just breathing so hard? I can feel invisible hands on my body, and twitch to move my hand away from Ayden. He doesn’t seem bothered by it. I am seconds away from falling apart. A single tear escapes from my eye as I struggle to keep the rest back.

“I’m in. I hated staying quiet while the Queen and King were speaking. Their lack of care for human rights is just appalling,” Kenzo mutters. He also appears to be vibrating with energy, except his is due to anger and not anxiety.

“The Queen freely gives me to her guards to rape,” I tell him, my ears ringing. My breaths are becoming a wheeze, and I curse myself for being so weak. Godsdamnit, why is it so hard to just breathe? “She uses it to punish me. That woman lives to break me.”

“So don’t break,” he says, midnight blue eyes savage with determination. “You’re not weak. The things I've realized that you’ve lived through, no one should have to endure. The King won’t be touching you.”

“He could want me for so many depraved things,” I counter, my mind spiraling with possibilities. “Charming could want me for himself, to marry off… I think not knowing is making me crazy.”

“Little Hacker,” Isaac barks, forcing my gaze to meet his. “Have we checked to see if there’s any bad debts that the King can’t meet? He wouldn’t tell Cinder if there was. Maybe he wants you because he’s promised something to a debt collector.”

“That’s horrifying.” Kenzo sighs, sitting on his calves. His hair is slightly out of place, and I find myself wanting to fix it. Everything is starting to feel fuzzy…

“Breathe,” Grayson reminds me as black spots start to race across my eyes. Stupid, stupid Silla. I was holding my breath. My nails dig into my hands to force myself to stop dissociating right now. Gray doesn’t ask me to stop hurting myself, I think he can see how much I’m struggling right now.