Page 136 of Lovely Venom

Self-defense. Self-defense.

I keep whispering that to myself about all these murders.

“We made it look like he killed all three and then escaped,” Connor adds.

Christ, that’s smart. I can’t live with any of this being traced back to Connor and his brothers.

“Did he come willingly?” I ask Connor in a painful whisper.

“When I told him he’s your father, and that he’d never see you again if he didn’t? Aye.”

“Show me,” I say, holding in emotions that are ready to spiral out of control.

“Come on.” Connor takes my hand and brings me inside.

Valdrin is sitting at a meeting table set up in the middle of the room where Connor’s torture slab usually stands. I’m surprised he’s not tied up or chained down. But Connor’s entire enforcer team surrounds him.

“Val,” I whine, using the name I thought he was fond of hearing coming from me.

“Zemër.” He smiles.

I recognize the word, and it knocks something loose in my chest.Heart. Valdrin calledmehis heart.

My mother used that term of endearment from time to time and used it in her letter. Was that a reminder torecognize him?

I sit down across from Valdrin with Connor’s hands on my shoulders. “Can you explain why my mother never told me who you were or where you were?”

“We were both young, your mother and I,” he begins a story that does not have a happy ending. “But she knew who my family was and what we did.”

“Why didn’t you marry Raina’s mother?” Connor asks man-to-man.

I wouldn’t have bothered to ask. Any excuse is useless at this point.

But Valdrin answers anyway. “The reasoning for that was deeper and darker than our ages.”

“Raina deserves to know everything soshecan make a decision about what we do with you.” Connor stands up for me and is putting the power in my hands.

“My grandfather waskyre,” Valdrin says with pride, rubbing sore knuckles that look like they’d been smashed with a fucking hammer.

Noel, that bastard. I want to skin him alive. But I nod to keep Valdrin talking. The room is quiet despite all the souls standing around.

“Grandfather died when my father was young. I never met him.”

Valdrin is a direct descendant of a previous king. My throat tightens. Iama princess after all.

“Maternal or paternal?” Connor asks.

“Paternal,” Valdrin answers with fire. “My father and Levin’s mother were brother and sister, but Levin’s mother was much older than my father. She was named Regent upon their father’s death, and Levin’s father essentially ruled askyre.”

“Was Levin older than you?” I ask, realizing I was never even shown a picture of him and have no idea what the man looks like.

“Despite my father being so much younger than Levin’s mother, we were born around the same time,” Valdrin answers.

“You mentioned a sister.” I lean forward.

“Iliana.Shewas first born Sokolov,” Valdrin says with a warm smile for his sister. “And would have made an amazingkyriá.”

Queen.