Page 71 of Malevolent King

Silvio pushed me into the car, hardly listening to me, and Angelo got in the back. We both watched Silvio round the front of the car.

“Don’t push, Sofia. Don’t let him know you suspect anything,” my bodyguard said quietly.

I bit my tongue with an effort. He was right, but anger dulled my self-control. I gathered it, piece by piece, reconstructing the unfeeling, aloof mask I’d relied on to survive my family.

Silvio got into the car with a grunt, rocking the entire vehicle.“You heard Antonio. I’m in charge at the house. You won’t be attending classes or leaving the compound, not while your father is in hospital. I can’t spare any more men. We’ll be stretched thin, dividing manpower between us and him.”

“I can’t miss school all the time,” I pointed out.

Silvio shrugged. “Who cares? You’re getting married soon, aren’t you? Might as well drop out now.”

20

NIKOLAI

Ifelt the change in the house’s energy immediately. Something was going on. I’d lain in the silence of my basement cell for so long, it was no longer just silence. I could make out footsteps above, doors closing, and muffled conversations. I couldn’t make out the words, but the tone was clear. Something stressful was happening in the rest of Casa Nera.

I was recovering slowly with Carmella’s help. The older housekeeper had been tending me in a deliberate act of defiance against Silvio that was brave in a way few people were. Her silent, stoic refusal to be cowed, even when her face was bruised and her hair ripped out, showed an enduring kind of strength that I’d only seen in the women in my life.

An unbending spine of steel lay beneath her housecoat and apron.

Finally, I was well enough to move.

Now, in the thick of night, I was outside Sofia’s door.

Bending Angelo’s arm to free me and get me up here wasn’t difficult. He had a weak point to press on, and I knew how to press.

“Stand guard. Knock if someone comes,” I told him and took the key he was holding from him. There were only three, apparently, one for Sofia, one for her father, and one for the man Antonio trusted to protect her.

Angelo unlocked the door, looking conflicted. I slapped him on the shoulder.

“I told you not to worry about her anymore. It’s my job now. You worry about yourself and getting me the shit I need.”

Dismissing him, I entered Sofia’s room and shut the door behind me, locking it for good measure.

The room smelled like her, and I sucked great lungfuls of the sweet and spicy scent.

The room was dark, with only light from the row of windows illuminating the bulky furniture. A huge four-poster bed sat in the middle of the room, swathed in curtains. One was tied open, and there was a shape on the white sheets inside.

I approached, appreciating the sight of her relaxed and content for once. I looked as long as I wanted. She was so pristine and beautiful; it made me aware of the contrast between us. She deserved so much better than me, but that wasn’t an option anymore. We had worked too far under each other’s skin. There was no way back.

I moved away and headed for the private bathroom inside her room. My reflection was straight out of a horror movie. I was filthy with old blood, dirt, and grime. I was lucky Antonio was having me taken to the toilet twice a day. The high and mighty De Sanctis don mustn’t like the thought of a grown man shitting in the corner of one of his rooms, dungeon or not.

I turned the shower on and shucked off my dirty clothes. The shower was strong and luxurious. It rained down on my battered body, washing the old, crusted blood down the drain in a swirl of brown. It hurt and healed at the same time. I could have spent hours under there, washing and enjoying being free of the cramped position of the basement. But my attention was tugged at constantly by the woman in the next room.

I got out and wrapped a towel around my hips. I stared critically at my wounds. They weren’t nearly as bad as Silvio thought. Just like everything he did, even when beating a restrained man, he did a piss-poor job, luckily for me.

I couldn’t shave in case Silvio worked out that I’d been tended to more than was allowed. He was as thick as mince, but sometimes, even he worked things out.

Instead, I dried myself off as best I could, ignoring the bruises and the slight cuts that burned on my wrists, and made my way back to the bedroom.

I approached the bed.

Sofia was lying on her side, one hand under the pillow. I’d spent so long in the dark below ground that I was turning into a nocturnal creature, able to see in the dark. Her hair striped the pillow in ribbons, and I reached out and touched the satin strands. My heart felt heavy, the thump of the beat echoing in my bones. I stepped closer, slowly lowering my weight to the mattress, letting it dip and roll Sofia toward me.

Her lips parted, and she sighed, distracting me, just as she moved. It happened in a blur. One second, she was lying as peaceful as a sleeping princess, waiting for the prince’s kiss to wake her from her long slumber. The next, she was whipping her hand from beneath the pillow toward me, and the tiny amount of light in the room glinted off a knife.

The blade pressed against my neck before I could think to disarm her.

---