Page 32 of A Princess, Stolen (A Kiss of Revenge, Blood, and Love #1)

Next to him, Ilias growled something I didn’t understand and Pan growled back in the foreign language. Now that they were standing next to each other, I could only tell them apart by Ilias’ pain-filled posture and the dark green bandana he wore, unlike Pan.

“It could be yours.” I tried again.

Nathan stepped forward. “It’s not possible. Keep it.” He closed my fingers so that the ring and bracelet were hidden inside. “And the rest of you keep your hands off it. It’s just as off-limits to you as the girl, understand? Don’t even think about it!”

“Why?” I looked at him in confusion, and once again, a murmur ran through the group.

“We don’t want money.”

The words shocked me so much that I stumbled back a step. “Excuse me?” I whispered, aghast. “What do you want? Nobody abducts a billionaire’s daughter and doesn’t demand money. That’s unheard of.”

“Your father’s money means nothing to us. Money only puts people in chains,” Nathan claimed frostily.

I didn’t understand anything anymore. Nathan least of all. “What do you want, then?” I looked from one to the other, but my gaze finally settled on Nathan. He crossed his arms as if he had to keep me at a distance again and his narrow eyes flashed with bitter pride. “We want justice.”

“Justice…” The syllables melted on my tongue and faded. That couldn’t be true. “That’s not true, you’re lying!”

“Watch what you say!”

“Liar!” I shouted at him, though I wasn’t angry at him but Dad.

For a moment, I thought he was going to slap me, but instead, he clenched his hands and flared his nostrils. “Your father ruined everyone’s life here. We don’t want his dirty money. We want the truth. We want reparations.”

“Don’t you mean something else by reparations?” I asked fiercely. “Something like revenge?” My hands were shaking. No, I was shaking! From anger and incomprehension, for something I didn’t understand.

“Call it what you want,” Nathan replied as cool as the first day. “And don’t get your hopes up of being rescued, princess. No one will find you here. Not even a special task force or a private army.” His tone left no room for doubt.

Impulsively, I pushed him away and used my arms to force my way out of the crowd before hearing Troy ask as I climbed down the stairs, “Should I bring her back?”

I didn’t wait for Nathan’s answer and hurried down the corridor to my old cell. The key was in the lock, so I pulled it out and locked myself inside. At least that way no one could get in.

I stood there for a moment, staring at the white, bare walls and the bars that locked me in. Cold surrounded me like packed ice. I felt as if Dad had stabbed me in the back even though there was certainly a calculated intent behind it all.

We want the truth. We want reparations .

For what? Had Dad actually done something that had hurt them?

If it were true, it had to be something significant, something horrendous, otherwise, they never would have abducted me.

But maybe they were wrong. Maybe they were lying.

Unfortunately, Nathan’s words didn’t sound like a lie to me.

And if they were, then it was a lie he believed.

Tired, I slid down the far wall. I was freezing; it would have been better if I had taken a blanket with me.

Shivering, I pulled the thick sweater over my thighs and stared at the ring in my hand, the ruby and the brilliant-cut diamonds that generously framed it.

My heart grew heavy as I thought of Mom.

“I can’t swim! And neither can Willa!”

“Give her to me! Give her to me!”

“Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!”

I held the ruby up to the light and a splash of color painted itself on my fingers like in the Palace of Shards.

Who would turn down so much money when they had nothing?

Or were they discussing whether to accept my offer?

After all, Nathan had even said that this, the Agamemnon, was the greatest luxury he had ever had.

I listened to see if I could hear them talking, but it was quiet. We were still anchored and the engines were off. I closed my fingers around the band and the ring and pressed my fist against my forehead. Let her have the ring!

Maybe everything Nathan said was true, but Dad wasn’t to blame. His lawyers kept signing contracts without him knowing the exact wording; he had employees for that. And why did Isaac make it such a personal matter? Because he felt betrayed by Dad?

Like you do now?

I thought about all the times Dad had been not only celebrated but also attacked.

He had told me that men in his position had enemies because they influenced laws and the press.

Had Dad’s money, power, and private contacts in the White House led to laws being passed that had harmed these men?

What did Nathan mean when he said your father ruined everyone’s life here ?

That couldn’t be true; Dad would never do something like that on purpose.

I was also annoyed that I ever doubted Dad even if he didn’t agree to all the demands.

I mean it was Dad, who had always comforted me and made me laugh when I was sad. Dad, who had sacrificed Mom for me.

A memory from the penthouse popped into my mind, a moment after I had been diagnosed with severe allergies and the doctors all advised against desensitization.

Our cook, Ruth, and her staff sorted out all the foods that I was no longer allowed to eat as a precaution.

I cried because the mountain of treats that were now forbidden to me was growing bigger and bigger.

Dad took me in his arms and held me as if he never wanted to let go.

“We have to be grateful that you’re still alive, Willa Mouse.

You could have died! And Ruth can conjure up great sweets for you even without eggs and nuts, can’t she?

” I nodded through my tears and Dad said, “We have to be careful from now on. Look at it this way; it’s like Easter, you never know where the eggs and nuts are hidden.

” And then he made a game out of it; whoever found the most products with chicken egg white or nuts won—and I could laugh again.

My life changed massively. The penthouse became my fortress and I was no longer allowed to go to my girlfriends’ homes.

Instead, everyone had to come to me. That was basically where it all started: my fear that someone could secretly slip me nuts or egg whites to get back at Dad.

My isolation from the world. The loss of contacts—except for Penelope…

I untied the ring from the bracelet and slipped it onto my finger.

They were spewing poison about Dad. My dad, who often had to choose between the well-being of many and the well-being of one.

They had abducted me to blackmail him. They were the bad guys.

Not Dad. They had frightened and terrified me, tied me up, and taunted me when I was completely helpless.

I had to be careful not to give in to the poison they were spreading.

I leaned against the cold wall and tried to sleep when I heard someone closing the hatches above the two staircases. After the last dull sound, heavy footsteps approached. I quickly rose and went all the way to the front of the bars, afraid it might be Isaac.

However, it was Nathan. This time, he couldn’t enter. He stopped in front of the bars and silently stared at me. At one point, he said, “You freed yourself with the ring, didn’t you?”

I nodded. Once Isaac came on board, it would be too late for me anyway. If the crew here refused the ring, Isaac would certainly not agree to it. Or he would take it from me and continue with his plan anyway. Nathan seemed too proud to me. He truly wasn’t interested in money.

“You don’t have to lock yourself in the cell,” he finally said, pointing to the key that I had placed on the floor in the far corner. “You could sleep in a bed.”

“Oh, yeah? Which one? Yours?” I was angry at him, angry because he fabricated stories about my father. Angry because he kissed me and now acted as if it had never happened. Angry because I was not indifferent to him because I could not separate the boy from his present self.

He didn’t say anything, instead, he entered the chamber across from the cell and came back with a blanket and a pillow.

He laid both in front of the bars. “It’s going to be cold tonight.

I hope you don’t see any ghosts, ghost girl.

Maybe I should sleep in front of the bars just to be on the safe side. ”

I stared at him and there was a deep glint in his eyes.

They looked ice gray now. If he thought I was going to comment on my trance, he was wrong.

I took a step back so he couldn’t reach me.

My head was a mess, far too busy to think about ghosts right now.

There was so much I wanted to know. I wanted to know why he hated Dad.

I wanted to know how well he knew Isaac.

I wanted to know if his authority was enough to protect me from him if necessary.

“What did my dad do to you? To you personally, I mean,” I asked after thinking for a moment.

In the flickering neon bulb, troughs of light and shadow flitted across Nathan’s oval face.

Over the straight nose, which was not too strong but not too small either, over the grim lips, and the narrow eyes with the raven-black eyelashes.

“I have a right to know,” I insisted when he didn’t answer, just looked at me as if he was far away. “I’m his daughter.”

He turned his back to me as if he couldn’t look at me. “He took everything from me. Everyone I loved. My home. Everything.” His voice sounded monotonous and maybe that was exactly why I felt so cold.

“That can’t be. My dad is a good person,” I whispered.

Nathan turned, his sea-gray eyes glowing terribly behind the bars. “Who says that?”