Page 27 of Volatile King (The Kings of Wayward Academy #6)

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People danced across the stage as they performed what Mommy called a ballet. The music made me happy. I leaned forward and stared down at the colorful costumes. There were giant statues on both sides of the stage. Mommy called them nutcrackers.

Startled, I looked to my left as someone touched my hand. It was the boy. He’d moved closer and was smiling.

“You wanna have some fun?”

“I am having fun,” I said, and looked down at the dancers.

“No, real fun. Come with me,” he said.

“The last time I went with you, I got into trouble,” I whispered.

“You chicken?”

I pressed my lips together. “No.”

“Prove it,” he said, slipping off the chair and crawling away.

I shouldn’t do this. I smiled up at my mommy as everyone clapped. When the music started again, and I was sure she was watching the dancers, I followed the boy.

Sneaking out into the hallway, I found him leaning against the wall. “I’m here.”

He looked at my shoes and back up to my eyes. I didn’t like it and put my hands on my hips.

“What are you staring at?”

“Chickens don’t wear shoes…or dresses. So maybe you aren’t a chicken.”

“Ha ha,” I said, and turned to go back into the small room that everyone called a box. I wasn’t sure why it was called that. It didn’t look like a box, but adults had weird names for things.

The boy grabbed my hand, spun me around, and pulled me behind him as he started to run. “Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

“We can’t leave Mommy. She’ll be scared,” I said, pulling back on my hand.

“We’ll come back. Don’t you want candy?”

I wasn’t normally allowed candy, but this was a special night. We never went out. I bit my lip as he tugged on my hand again.

“Come on,” he said.

This time I ran with him, but when we got to the end of the long hallway, a man stepped in our way. I didn’t need to look up to know who it was. Mommy’s guard. I swallowed hard.

“Oh…oh,” I said as he raised an eyebrow at me.

“Lilya, back to your seat. You, too,” he said, as he marched us back to the room we’d escaped.

Mommy was just coming out the door, her face worried. She stopped as soon as she saw us.

“Sorry, Mommy. We just wanted candy.”

“Come sit down, and if you’re good for the rest of the performance, I’ll get you something on the way out,” Mommy said.

I smiled with excitement. “Can he have some, too?”

Mommy looked at the boy and nodded.

“No, he cannot,” Daddy said.

I stared out the back window, my hand pressed against the cool glass.

“Stop the car. I need to go back. I have to go back. They can’t die,” I screamed.

There was a truck and an evil man. I was afraid. My heart raced. Then I was flying. The glass exploded, and I screamed and reached for someone.

“Dad!”

But no one was there.

S weat trickled down my back as I sat up, sucking in a deep gasp. I was in my room at Ella’s house. I touched my face and head, but there were no bandages or cuts. It was just a dream.

Myles and Blake were sound asleep beside me when I glanced around.

Wiggling, I slid off the end of the bed much like I’d done at the ballet when I was small. I didn’t understand these dreams. They made no sense, and I woke up with an overwhelming urge to find my father.

I knew Lawrence had him, and everyone, especially Nash, had made it clear that I was never allowed to speak to Lawrence about my father. But these visions gripped me in a way I just couldn’t explain.

My hands were still shaking, and I was chilled from my damp skin. I grabbed Myles’s hoodie off the chair and pulled it on over my head. It fit like a dress, but it was comfortable and made me feel safe.

I tiptoed out of the bedroom in search of a drink and closed the door behind me. The house was dark, but the moonlight shining through the windows was enough to light my path.

My bare feet didn’t make a sound as I snuck through the O’Brien’s home like a cat burglar.

Walking into the kitchen, I opened a cupboard and pulled down a glass.

I considered taking it over to the fridge and pouring myself something, but that seemed dangerous with my coordination lately.

I’d probably spill my drink all over the floor or drop it and have to sweep up the shards.

The last thing I needed was to end up back in the hospital with my foot sliced open.

Setting the glass down, I walked over to the fridge and opened the door.

The light glowed almost too brightly, and I squinted at the array of choices.

I loved Ella. She had water with lemon, water with cucumber and mint, and three different juices.

That was just what I could see without moving anything. There were so many options.

“Are you getting a drink or using the fridge to cool the house all night?”

Nash was behind me when I whipped around mid-screech. He was leaning against the counter, a smirk firmly in place, and his eyes shadowed by the dark.

“You…you…you…”

“You going to finish that sentence, Princess?”

My hand was fisted over my heart as I glared at him. “Jerk,” I said, and he smiled.

Turning around, I contemplated my choices again, but Nash came over and picked the strawberry juice. He closed the fridge and with his hand on my lower back he guided me to my glass.

I crossed my arms and continued to give him my death stare.

“I…no…want,” I said, being stubborn.

“Okay,” he said, shrugging as he poured a glass anyway. I watched him drink it down. “Mmm, that is good.” He licked his lips and grabbed the handle of the dishwasher.

“Stop,” I said, groaning. Nash was so annoying.

“Yes? You want something?” I pointed at the juice. “Oh, so you do want some.”

“For…get it.” I marched away, but Nash wrapped his arm around my waist and picked me up off the ground.

He walked me back over to the counter and sat me on it while I smacked at his arms for all the good it did me. Nash knew me too well because he immediately stepped between my legs so I couldn’t jump down or kick him. Both sounded like perfect retaliation to me.

Nash didn’t say anything as he poured some of the strawberry drink. He held the glass between us, waiting for me to take it, and never said a word. His arrogance and annoyance were on full display as he watched me closely, daring me not to take it.

“Come…where…from,” I said, and took the drink.

“I just got home and heard someone sneaking around. So, I decided to investigate,” Nash said.

Ella made all of her juices from scratch, so I shouldn’t have been surprised at how good it was when I took a sip. It was fresh, sweet, and tasted like I’d walked in the backyard, picked some berries, and drank them down.

“From?” I looked over at the clock on the wall. “Late,” I said, and one of his eyebrows arched.

“Careful, Princess, you almost sound like you care.” I pressed my lips together, glaring at him. “Fuck, I do love it when you look at me like that.” I rolled my eyes.

“Impossible,” I growled.

“I was at Volatile with the guys, but I stayed to talk to Nathaniel on my own. He wants to see you before he goes back to Cali. Do you want me to set up lunch tomorrow or something?”

A trickle of embarrassment filled me at the thought of trying to catch up with my cousin. But then again, everyone had been amazing earlier, and Nathaniel didn’t seem like the type to make fun of me. I nodded.

“Okay, I’ll reach out. Why are you up? You should be resting.”

“Dream.”

“A nightmare?”

I shook my head. “Sort…of.” I tapped my head. “Can’t…tell…real.”

“Do you want to tell me about it? I’m sort of an expert when it comes to bad dreams,” he said, and that made me sad. I was glad that Owen was dead, but Lawrence…he was just as evil, if not more.

I nodded. “Yes…not…now.”

“When you’re ready, I’m here,” he said softly.

Nash ran his hand through my hair, pushing the unruly strands away from my face. I still didn’t know what to think of this side of Nash. Was it really him? Was this the version he hid from everyone else? Or was it just an act, another layer of manipulation?

“Why are you staring at me like that?” I looked away and took another sip of my drink before I shrugged.

“Don’t you lie to me, Princess,” he whispered as his hand wrapped around my throat, making my pulse jump.

He ran his lips along my jaw, and I shivered all over again, but for an entirely different reason.

“I have ways of making you talk. Don’t make me torture it out of you. ”

His breath was hot against my ear, and the raw need in his tone made me bite my lip. He nipped my earlobe, and my hand holding the glass shook. Without looking, he took it from me and set it aside. Nash’s lips brushed against my cheek until they hovered over mine.

“Tell me, Princess.”

Signing was the best option for getting my point across, despite still being slow.

You confuse me.

“Why?”

There are two sides to you. I struggle to understand which is the real you—the guy who was mean and hated me, or this…

I moved my hands to show I meant him—right now, in this moment.

“Why can’t they both be me?” I shrugged. He had a point. “I’m an asshole, that’s never going to change. You have to admit, you find it charming,” he said, chuckling.

That had my eyebrow raising.

“But you seem to bring out another side, Princess. The me that wants to be more.” I pointed at my chest. Nash grabbed my hand and nibbled on the tip of my finger before sucking it into his mouth.

His eyes remained on mine, the sexual heat burning in them had my pulse speeding up.

I moaned, unable to look away. “Yes, you,” he said, releasing my finger, but tightening his grip on my throat.

“And I hate you for it. Just like you hate me,” he growled, the words opposite to what we both knew to be true.

His lips crashed down onto mine. The intensity was all-consuming like he could punish me with the kiss, and it would crush what he hated in himself…whatever it was I did to him.

I kissed Nash back with just as much frustration. He groaned and dropped his hand from my neck. Nash gripped my ass and pulled me to the edge of the counter until I was flush against his body.

“I don’t just want you…I need you.” Nash growled. “The kind of need that can drive a man mad and make a monster out of a saint.”

My body tingled where he touched me.

Smirking, I signed. You were never a saint.

Nash smiled, but it was a devilish grin that set my body ablaze.

“You’re right…I’m not. Which is why I’ll be the reason your legs tremble, your voice breaks, and your soul forgets how to behave. I’ll own you. Break you. Heal you. Love you. And fuck you so hard, the only thing you’ll remember is my name.”

I blinked as the charged energy between us stilled for just a heartbeat. Nash’s pupils were so large that his eyes looked black and were filled with a desire so penetrating that it stole the air from my lungs.

Unable to speak, I kissed him hard. Nash unraveled under my fingers, and it only fed the frenzy inside me. He picked me up, and my legs wrapped around his waist as he walked us out of the kitchen. I didn’t care where we were going. I craved him as much as he needed me tonight…maybe more.