Page 66 of Wrathful King

I shook my head. “You’ll be disappointed.”

The rippling water forged its own symphony in the steady rhythm, matching my throbbing heartbeat. The silver moon reflected against its dark depths, calling to my broken spirit.

“Break my heart, Reina. As many times as you want. It was only ever yours to break.” My gaze snapped to him. “But I will never give up on you. My heart beats for you. I’ll love you until my last breath, but I’ll also fight for you until that day comes.”

His words did weird shit to my heart, melting the ice walls I’d worked so hard to construct.

“Where is my sister?” I rasped, focusing on something else, something that terrified me in a different way. I promised my mamma I’d protect her. I needed to make sure I stayed true to that. “I want to see her, but no one is giving me a straight answer.”

Every time I brought her up, I was met with vague answers and averted looks. Nobody had brought her up since I returned. Papà was here. Grandma came to visit. Even the girls called and texted and visited. Everyone but my sister, and that was not like her.

Amon paused. “She’s not here.”

It had been three weeks since I was rescued from the jungles of Brazil. Since Amon, his brother, Darius, and all their men decimated the compound to nothing. Which meant it’d been almost two months since I’d left Paris.

I had regained some semblance of sanity in the last week. I no longer lost my shit when I felt Amon nearby. Some nights, I woke up to him stroking my hair, whispering warm, reassuring words that were so beautiful the old me would’ve cried. Instead, I lay motionless, pretending I was asleep, hiding behind the comfort of my walls.

The old me was dead. I was no longer his cinnamon girl. I was no longer innocent or naive.

“Talk to me.”

I clenched my teeth. “Where is my papà?”

“He’s asleep. Want me to wake him up?”

Guilt slithered through me… I was being selfish. His cancer was attacking him from the inside, and he needed his rest.

“No, don’t wake him.”

I turned my back to him, only for the mattress to dip right behind me.

Tension stiffened my every limb, and I didn’t acknowledge him. It was for the best. If I faced him, my panic and anxiety would take hold and wouldn’t let go until he sedated me. I was tired of being drugged.

Determined not to risk another one of my episodes, I closed my eyes and kept them shut, refusing to react to him or any life around me. It wasn’t easy. For some reason, every stupid fiber of me was so attuned to him.

My body shuddered at his proximity, but I ignored it. I kept trying to distinguish reality from hallucination, my truth from the lies Perez spun in a poisonous web around me. Rubbing my chest, the throbbing ache slowly expanded with each breath. Perez left scars on my mind, not only my body.

“Reina, please talk to me.”

“I can’t.”

I could feel him stiffen behind me. Silence descended upon us, his breaths, my heartbeats, the room swaying ever so slightly over the water.

“Then who?” he demanded. When I said nothing, his hand came to my shoulder.

I jerked away from his touch. “Don’t touch me,” I hissed, making him wince. I shifted around, watching him warily.

My eyes darted past him and focused on the horizon.

“Cinnamon girl, please don’t lock yourself away,” he said roughly. “Don’t leave me alone.”

I wanted to tell him I, too, felt alone, but the words got stuck in my throat.

“You’re safe now,” he assured softly. I sat up slowly and shifted away from him, bringing my knees to my chest. “Tell me what you need.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat.

“I can’t be with you anymore.” My voice was barely above a whisper. “You and I… We were never supposed to be. We both know it. It’s okay. There’s too much hate surrounding our family and—” I broke off, the sob catching in my throat. I didn’t think I could bear any more heartbreak. Once he saw my scars, he wouldn’t want me anymore, so it was better this way.