Page 37 of Cruelly Fated (Princes of Avari #1)

Thirty-Three

ALLIE

“ M aybe you should check on him… What if he needs your help?” I turned toward Valor, who was leisurely leaning against the hood of his car. The other vampire had sprinted past us shortly after Valor carried me into the parking lot.

Valor tilted his head in my direction, giving me a clear don’t-be-silly look .

Oh, okay. I exhaled and joined him, my palms pressing into the hood’s grill.

But no amount of breathing slowed the pulse galloping through my chest. I opened my mouth to try to convince Valor to go back inside—or else I’d run in myself—when the back door slammed open and rebounded off the wall, groaning on its hinges as it drifted halfway closed again.

Kyon stepped out.

I clapped both hands over my mouth. Slash marks streaked down his arms, and his shirt clung to him, soaked through with blood.

“Kyon!” I rushed forward and threw my arms around his neck, pressing my body to his. The feel of his warmth against me chased away the worst of my panic. I jumped back, gasping. “I’m sorry—your wounds—”

His stern gaze captured mine. “It’s nothing.”

Tentatively, he drew me in again, holding me like he needed the contact as much as I did. As if he needed proof that I was here, alive, and no longer marked for sale to the highest bidder. He rested his cheek atop my head, and I closed my eyes.

Valor cleared his throat. “Cops are on their way.”

Kyon didn’t move.

“There will be time later. You can’t be seen here.” Valor whispered the last part with urgency.

Kyon stiffened. He pulled away from our embrace and stared down at me, lips pressed tight.

“You’ll be safe with Valor. I’ll come as soon as I can.

” He cradled my cheek, his gaze sweeping over my face like he was memorizing every detail.

My tongue stuck stubbornly to the roof of my mouth.

I didn’t want to say goodbye, even though that’s exactly what this was.

He’d rescued me, but now he was handing me off because of his status.

Because someone like me didn’t belong in his world.

Our situation felt hopeless. So I said the only thing that rang true.

“Thank you.” I rose on my toes and placed a kiss on his cheek.

His brows pinched into a V, and he leaned closer, crowding me. “We will talk,” he growled softly. Then he turned and sprinted toward the trees as sirens screamed in the distance.

I gasped and whipped around, eyes straining toward the woods he’d vanished into. A part of me feared it was the last time I’d ever see him.

“Allie!” Lance’s voice snapped me back to the present. He jogged toward us, eyeing the vampire beside me with caution.

“He’s a friend,” I said quickly. “He helped me escape and called the cops.”

Police vehicles screeched to a halt, lights flashing red and blue across the parking lot.

Officers poured out, surrounding the building like a swarm.

Two of them rushed toward us. Valor stepped forward, explaining the situation and naming the main suspect.

Lance listened with wide eyes, his arm slipping protectively around my shoulders.

“That scumbag,” he muttered, spitting on the ground.

“He’s also behind my mother’s murder and Grandpa’s arrest.” My voice cracked. A sob burst out before I could stop it. Larry’s revelations had finally caught up with me. He’d ordered my mother’s death. He’d destroyed my family. For what? So he could own me?

Lance pulled me tighter, and I let myself cry into his shoulder.

“Shhh…it’s okay,” he whispered, trying to soothe me. Gratitude swelled in my chest for him in that moment. But gods, I wished it were someone else’s arms around me. I was self-destructive that way.

“Allie?”

I lifted my head to find Officer Marley standing by, concern in his eyes and a clipboard in hand.

“We need your statement. I thought it might be easier if I took it,” he said gently.

The back door banged open, and I flinched.

Larry’s voice rang out, high-pitched and furious, as officers dragged him into view.

His sleeve hung loose on his wrist, one shoe missing and his face blotched with rage.

His bloodshot eyes locked on me, and he lunged like a feral dog.

A loud pop cracked through the air as his shoulder dislocated.

He screamed in pain, stumbling when the officers twisted his arms tighter behind his back.

Feel this pain. I hope there’s more coming your way.

“Don’t mention Kyon,” Valor whispered into my ear, barely audible.

I blinked, surprised at his request. But I wouldn't mention him even though I didn't understand why. Perhaps the dragon king didn't want that kind of publicity.

“Would you like to go to my cruiser?” Marley asked .

I shook my head. “Let’s get it over with here. I’d like to leave as soon as I can.”

His perceptive gaze flicked to Valor. He didn’t comment on my choice of company this time.

It wasn’t his place. After I gave my statement, I assured him I had a safe place to stay.

He looked as though he wanted to press for details, the investigator in him rearing up.

After a pause, he flattened his lips into a forced smile and rejoined his crew.

I hugged Lance next, my arms looped around his neck. “I promise to stay in touch.”

“You better. Looks like the place is shutting down. Finding a decent-paying job on this side of Avari is… Well, let’s just say I’ll need a distraction to keep from wallowing.” He squeezed my hand one last time and headed toward the back-room door.

“Ready?” Valor asked.

I shuffled toward the passenger door he held open for me.

“How did you know? And who was the other vampire with you?” I asked, needing to understand how he and Kyon had gotten involved.

“It’s a long tale. Good thing we’re about to hit Avari’s worst traffic,” Valor said, shutting the door behind me.

I peered at the clock—just after one a.m., and once again, sleep was evading me. With a sigh, I tossed the covers aside and sat up, face buried in my hands. Why did life have to be this confusing? It was all too much.

Kyon’s last words replayed in my mind: We will talk . They stoked a deep-seated hope. A desire. Because no matter how hard I tried to push him away for his family’s dark legacy, my heart protested at every turn.

He hadn’t known about his brother’s club’s operations and had no business butting in, yet that’s what he’d been doing earlier today when he questioned the club’s secretary and managers about the safety of workers and forced the name of the vampire lord responsible for my mother’s death out of them.

Valor suspected Kyon would soon pay the coven another visit, in his dragon form…

I rubbed my face. Noble Kyon pulled on my heartstrings even more so than the savage with a difficult past. The cave and that collar, his strong reaction to it, stole my sleep too. Perhaps one day he would share what had happened to him.

My toes bumped the corner of a box I’d tucked under the bed. I slid to the floor and pulled out my mother’s keepsakes. I’d already gone through most of them, except for the pile of letters tied together.

With shaky fingers, I undid the knot and spread the envelopes across the floor. Dozens of letters, all without recipient addresses. I frowned, not understanding what I was looking at. Had she never meant to send them? Or…did she not know where to send them?

She’d scribbled dates, starting with the day I was born. I peeled open the first envelope and pulled out a note written in Mom’s familiar hand.

Cyrus, our daughter was born today. She’s got your eyes…

I hiccuped, pressing a hand to my mouth. Cyrus … My father’s name. Mom had never spoken it aloud. Every time I’d asked about my dad, she’d deflected, always changing the subject. I’d assumed she hated him—resented him for leaving. But these letters told a different story.

I sifted through the stack, my hands trembling.

She’d written several in the first year of my life.

Then the frequency slowed—once every few months, and eventually, only once a year.

As if she still held onto hope, but with less certainty.

Toward the end, she didn’t even bother with full dates—just the year.

She wrote her last letter the year she died.

I traced a finger across the paper, knowing she had held it in her hands not long ago. I breathed in deeply, then began organizing the notes in chronological order and reading, one by one.

“Everything fine?” Valor’s concerned voice came through the speaker.

I hesitated. Asking for a favor, especially from someone who’d already done so much for me, wasn’t in my nature. It sat in my throat like a bitter pill.

“Allie?” The urgency in his voice amplified.

“Yes,” I breathed. “I was wondering…would you mind calling the prison? I’d like to see my grandpa, but my visitation isn’t until—”

“Done. Anything else?”

“No.”

“Listen, one of our downtown restaurants is hiring. Stop by my parents’ residence after your visit so we can discuss. It’s a night shift…”

“Yes. Yes!” I squealed, then chided myself. I cleared my throat and said with more composure, “I’ll be there.”

A downtown job at a top-tier restaurant? That kind of paycheck could cover my rent and chip away at Grandpa’s legal fees.

Valor let out a quiet chuff of laughter and pinged his location to my phone.

“There is a favor I’d like to ask of you actually,” he said.

“Me?” I blinked. I couldn’t imagine what the prince of Avari needed from me.

“The Voltaire's ball is tonight. I wasn’t planning on going, but…turns out I have to. And now I need a date. Stat.”

I pulled the phone away from my ear and stared at it. Surely, I hadn’t heard him right .

“Allie?”

“Oh, here. Did you just say a Voltaire ball? I have nothing to wear,” I said.

“You’re the same size as my sister. She has closets—I mean closets —full of that stuff. I’ll have a few selections ready when you arrive.” Valor’s voice became muffled as he spoke to somebody nearby. “Allie, I have to go. I’ll see you soon.”

“But—”

He hung up.

I hadn’t even given him an answer. I couldn’t go with him…could I? Attending the ball meant running into Kyon. And running into Kyon was a bad idea. When my traitorous heart wanted to run to him, when my foolish lips still craved his kiss, and my body… I sighed.

I owed Valor. That much was true.

I raked my fingers through my hair. Maybe I could slip out early, once the vampire no longer needed me.

My gaze dropped to Mom’s last letter still resting on the bed. I tucked it into my pocket, grabbed the car key, and stepped out into the sunlight.