Page 29

With a yawn, Renee padded into the joined bathroom. She stretched her arms and shuddered when a twinge of pain crept up from her core. It didn’t matter, that had been the best night of her life. She washed her face and stopped before she left. Tempted for the first time in years to look at herself.

When was the last time she’d felt anything resembling happiness? Probably before the zombies. But those memories were distant and more like a dream. It had been that way for years. She thought those memories might seem so far away because it hurt too much to think about them, so she let them go.

When she had a good dream, she assumed those were her memories drifting into her thoughts. But now she had Zane and could make new memories with him. Good memories. Well, when it was just them, and he wasn’t the king of the undead, he was just Zane. Her Zane. Still mixed up but finally feeling hopeful, she slowly raised her eyes to the mirror.

Her mouth dropped open as she stumbled backward.

Not real.

That wasn’t her.

Renee blinked several times and waved her hands around, watching how the movements in the mirror matched hers. Pale, bright, glowing, green irises peered back in her reflection. Her entire naked body on display was sickly white and thin, with almost translucent skin. Violet and blue veins mapped over her form. Her long, wild, dark hair starkly contrasted everything else.

She stared in the mirror and raised her hand to her neck. A chunk was missing. Had been missing . The indentation was so old it had healed over with ashen-colored skin. Is that why she hadn’t tied her hair back like she used to? The subconscious was weird. Renee thought about her strange interactions with both Brie and Zane. How he kept asking her if she remembered what’d happened.

She’d been dead since the day the horde attacked Baltimore.

Dead when she had tried running the first time.

Dead when he told her he owned her because he owned the entire horde.

He was their king - her king .

The bathroom door opened slowly. Zane’s face fell when he caught her expression.

“Renee.”

“Don’t. Go away. Leave me alone.”

“Please, let me help you.”

“Help me? Your horde did this to me! Get away from me!” She flung herself at him and hit him repeatedly.

Zane caught her wrists and tried to hug her, comfort her, but she wouldn’t let him.

“You don’t love me. You just own me because I’m part of your army.”

Her chest ached. It was as if an invisible hand had reached into her chest cavity and ruthlessly torn her heart out, tossing it on the cold tiles beneath her bare feet.

“That’s not true. Please let me explain.”

“There’s nothing to explain.” She ripped herself out of his arms. “Do you fuck all your new recruits? Or am I special because I’m less chewed up?”

Zane said nothing and just stared at her with a tormented expression. His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down in his throat.

“Did I do what you wanted when I killed that woman? I murdered someone.” She bent over, gasping for breath. “I murdered someone to protect you because you’re my king. I don’t have a choice, do I?” Renee started laughing and crying at the same time, then collapsed on the tiled floor.

He stepped closer but paused when she spoke.

“Get away from me. I hate you. You and your horde took everything from me.”

His eyes were damp when he backed up. “I’ll send Brie to get you later.” He turned and left.

Renee laid on the floor and wept, staring at where she imagined her discarded heart would be, hers that slowed with each second. Lies. Everything had been a lie. Had she done anything because she wanted to? Or was everything because he willed it; was she anything more than a puppet?