Page 15 of Unforgiving Queen

I raised my eyes and met their worried gazes. “Stop telling me that I’ll be okay. I won’t be. How could any sane person forget all this shit?”

They lapsed into silence that lingered like the memories that swarmed my mind. It felt like I’d stumbled into a nightmare of my own creation, all my demons coming to haunt me. I wished to forget it all, but it was tattooed in my mind. The way he looked at me. The way he kissed me. It was all destroyed by the image of him with someone else.

I stared up at the white-tiled ceiling, cursing myself for not being strong like Raven. Or my sister. Any of my friends, really. Instead, my mind kept trying to conjure an excuse for his shitty behavior. He was a heartbreak waiting to happen; I just didn’t think it would happen the way it did.

My sister interrupted the strained moment suffocating us all.

“Get some rest,” Phoenix signed. “You look tired.”

She didn’t need to ask me twice. “I am,” I murmured.

I drifted off again, secure in knowing that my family and friends were still here. As the arms of sleep pulled me under, the last thought on my mind was him.

The boy with galaxies in his eyes.

6

AMON

She gave me heaven and I gave her hell.

I never thought that slice of darkness in my soul would end up consumed by the cinnamon girl.

It had been three weeks since I saw her last. Unmoving and deathly pale in that hospital bed. I’d attempted to see her, but her family had a list of approved visitors. The nurse basically told me to go fuck myself. Not even my growling or groveling worked in this instance. It was pathetic, and in the grand scheme of things, I was thankful my brother wasn’t around to see the state I was in.

Besides, her grandma, Romero, and her friends were always there, taking turns watching over her. I hadn’t heard from Romero, which left me to believe Diana Glasgow had told him nothing about seeing me in the hospital. Not to mention they’d put security and guards on the hospital floor. It was tight. It was good. It’d keep her safe.

It was for the best.

But I still came every day, lingering outside the hospital like a thief in the night. I had been watching her from the shadows and hacking into hospital records, tracking her progress. Today, she’d be released.

I hoped for one last glimpse of her.

My phone buzzed and I flicked a glance at it.

It was my brother.

Where in the fuck are you? Need you at this Omertà meeting.

I ignored it.

I had the rest of my miserable life to deal with the underworld. I only had today for Reina.

I leaned against the farthest tree in the lot, staring up at its naked branches. The leaf-covered ground trembled with the wind, and I pulled my coat tighter. It was an especially cold November afternoon and the sun was already preparing to set. Thanksgiving was coming, and I guessed Reina would celebrate it with her family. The holiday made no sense to me, but Americans liked to stuff their bellies and drown their thirst.

I checked my watch and wondered for the umpteenth time why they hadn’t released her first thing this morning.

Dante was right. He’d seen through me all along. She was my obsession, and would likely be my damnation. There was a line between right and wrong.

I crossed it;wecrossed it. Unknowingly, but that didn’t absolve us of our sins.

If I were a better man—a stronger man—I’d walk away and keep away. Reina had a family. They loved her. They’d take care of her and protect her.

But I wasn’t a better man. I was a selfish bastard who wanted another glimpse of her.

One. More. Time.

To ensure she was alright. To see that halo around her head. I knew an angel was never meant to end up with a bitter prince.