The Queen in the Kingdom

TER

r arms again as if aware of her every vulnerable gesture. “You admitted to

’ve bugged yo

Then her brows came toget

was kidding. I didn’t bug the apa

d at him, cle

’d envisioned. He wanted to be straight with her for once. No games. N

eryth

You know some of my secrets are better off kept.

s the thing that’s

at why y

r head and looking down agai

he stopped in his tracks. “Tell me why you ran. Talk to me.”

.” She shook her head

ou liking when

the bait, he sighed. “W

e rose again

J? Because

her back to him, shou

kill BJ all over again, he would. And he’d dr

es; the leaves shivered below them. She leaned forward onto the stone

d and said he had you, nothing else mattered anymore. You mean

sed like his w

he flinched away. Mario pull

ntended, but hell. “I’d never hurt you. I was angry, but mostly I was worried

looking at him and there was such pain

took you…” He broke off, shaking his head, not able to continue. He still did

ething—not only brought her into their world but drenched her in it. And of course she’d

ough that even though she wrapped her arms around h

king care of her. “Let’s go bac

e took off his coat and came towards her instead. At the last

r.” Standing so close and breathing in her

erworld. He’d soullessly embodied the title for years, holding the wicked in his iron grip so the weak didn’t suffer un

ibrant color. She’d thawed the ice in his heart and he couldn’t go back.

closeness. “Come back to me,” he

could feel her hair catch on

safe on your o

.” She squeezed her eyes shut like if s

gently towards him, and

“W

she replied, a l

roommates. “Or the stripper? Your so-called friends who left you

He felt it, and h

, where I know I can keep you safe. I know

is why I left, Mario. You try to

led or spoken to

to come back to you. I left because I’d

it, she spun around and draped it over the parapet before leaning against the cool

know he wasn’t giving up. Not even remotely. She’d given him a taste of parad

days.” Before she could say anything else to contradict him, he turne

llusion of choice for

n feathers, packing the decorations away into their proper boxes and trying not to think about Mario. She felt b

down enough she’d been able to get a few hours of sleep sometimes; today she’d gotten two h

leather satchel over one shoulder. Like h

d down at her, watching her wra

im, trying to gauge his mood. Standing there, hair mussed and deep circles u

today. It’s

e no

s head to indicate the spot where Annabelle had given an impromptu performance

Don’t worry, my staff cleaned the floor. If the ho

ris squatted down near her, p

ed at him.

not a purse th

She stopped and scrubbed a hand over h

the last tim