Page 96 of Wrathful King

My phone buzzed and I flicked a glance at the screen.

“What is it?” Reina asked.

“It’s a message from Illias Konstantin. He said that Hiroshi married my mother the day before the attack on us.” The confirmation only left me more confused. “It makes no fucking sense why she’d marry him, knowing she wasalreadymarried.”

Reina hummed at that. “Maybe she had a good reason for it and was trying to protect you.” I hated that a part of me wanted to agree, to find an excuse for her inexcusable betrayal. “We have to keep an open mind,” she rasped. “I love you. I want our future to be free of this hell. No ghosts chasing us.” There were days I still couldn’t believe she was mine—body, heart, and soul. “Now, buy me a gelato, husband, before your wife’s wrath descends.” I tipped my head, a laugh working its way from my throat.

“God, I love your laugh,” she said, catching me off guard.

“Life with you is worth smiling and laughing about,” I told her, heading toward the square of San Marco. “Now let’s go get you a gelato. I know what flavor I’m getting.”

She side-eyed me. “I don’t know if they have a cinnamon flavor.”

I smiled. “They will. I found a little local shop that happened to be experimenting with the flavor. He called the flavordisgustoso, but I made a deal with them. I bought every scoop and every flavor of their ice cream on hand today so they’ll keep the shop open only for us. I’m having a date with my queen.”

Her eyes shimmered. “I love you more and more each day.”

A chuckle left me. “Good, because we’re in this for life and I’m never letting you go.”

But in the back of my mind, I could feel the darkening clouds and taste the impending storm in the air.

34

REINA

Our gondola floated along the water, sending ripples across the canal. Silver moonlight battled with the heavy clouds, and the usually busy and vibrant city was emptier tonight thanks to the light drizzle.

The gondolier rowed us through the canals while he hummed a soft song, filling the air and my chest with contentment.

I had succumbed to the darkness and disappeared during those weeks in captivity and the ones that followed, but Amon had managed to pull me out and show me what it was to live again.

Amon’s hand wrapped around me, the yin and yang bracelet from years ago still around his wrist. Then his tattoo. The same symbol that hung around my neck. I traced it with my fingers. My throat tightened, and I felt my eyes mist—whether from joy or sadness, I wasn’t sure.

“What’s on your mind?” Amon’s voice was a warm whisper against my forehead.

I turned to look at him. The boy I fell in love with. Raising my left hand, I cupped his face. So much hurt and disappointment, but also love and gratitude. The latter two outweighed anything else.

From the very first moment I met him, I belonged to him.

“You. Us. Everything.” I tilted my head to the sky. There was no need to fight the darkness. It was a part of us. “I hope I never forget,” I rasped.

“Forget what?”

I smiled. “I don’t want to forget a single moment with you. You make my life more beautiful than I could’ve ever hoped. Thank you for not… giving up on me.”

His lips found mine. “I’m not a perfect man, cinnamon girl, but I’ve always been yours. You’re my sun, my moon, and my tides.”

Just as he uttered those words, lights filled the sky despite the drizzle, and I turned to look at it. A soft gasp escaped my lips. Thousands of lanterns floated over Venice. The backs of my eyes burned and my chest expanded with love for this man.

“You and me against the world,” he murmured.

“Together.”

Our happily ever after was within our grasp, and I’d be damned if I let anyone snatch it from me.

If only I could share it with my sister.

Amon’s and my phones buzzed at the same time with a message from Dante. We shared a fleeting glance before opening the text. Two photos—a marriage license and Phoenix’s smiling face.