Page 99 of The Kingdom of Ruin

“How?”

I know what he’s asking, and as much as I scramble for an answer, I know there’s no use in lying. I’m not the best at it, my heart always giving a little murmur, and he’ll be able to see right through me. My pulse is already erratic enough, a sensation I don’t hide because that would only cause more confusion as he tries to get a read on me.

“I was attacked as a child.”

His eyes widen as the corner of his mouth turns up just an inch. “You poor thing.” I’ve sensed more sympathy from a wilted flower. If he thinks I’m falling for that, he’s truly mistaken. “By who?”

I frown at him. Nobody asks that. Not that many people know the details behind my ears, but still. There’s intrusive, and then there’s that question. There’s no use lying, though. Despite how awkward the truth may be.

“By a wolf.”

A gasp echoes from my left, and I know it’s Janie. It cuts through the rising tension thickening around me, but the same shock isn’t evident on Alpha Kenner.

No.

Instead, there’s a sparkle in his eyes.

“How?” he pushes, and I shrug. “How?” he repeats, more demanding this time.

“Father, that’s enough,” Cassian bites as Alpha Kenner leans back, tapping his finger against his chin.

“I’d recognize your eyes anywhere,” he murmurs, so quiet I’m unsure if I heard him correctly. Whirling around, he finds Dalton a step behind him. “Fetch her.” There’s glee in his voice as he turns back to me, and with every passing moment, my gut sinks.

“What’s going on?” Kryll asks, and I wince, panicked that Kenner will lash out at him, but he seems to go unheard. Not by Cassian, though, who turns to me, storming by his father to get to my side.

“We’re leaving.”

“You’re going nowhere,” his father snarls, pointing his finger at his son in warning before turning back to me.

I’m acutely aware that the entire gathering is staring this way, and the music doesn’t seem as loud as it did earlier. Here’s the scene Dalton was talking about. I was just hoping it would center around Cassian and not me.

I should have known I wouldn’t be that lucky.

A menacing smile takes over Kenner’s face as his presence seems to loom around me even more. “I’ve sliced the ears of a fae before.” I freeze, blinking at him as his words take root in my veins. “A small girl,” he adds, an air of triumph oozing from him. “Not just any small girl…you.”

My pulse rings in my ears. “Me.”

The word parts my lips as I try to wrap my head around what he’s saying. I don’t think, I don’t consider, I don’t do anything but launch myself at him. I reach for two daggers at my waist, ready to pierce this fucker with them, but Cassian manages to intercept me, pinning me to his chest.

“Somebody spell it out for me,” Cassian growls, and I wiggle against his hold to no avail. I need to use my magic, even if I reveal…no, earth magic will do. It has to.

“Let go of me, Cassian. He needs to pay,” I snarl, my blood burning through my veins with the need to get my revenge. Kenner laughs, arms out wide at his sides as he basks in my rage. Let him. “What you did to my sister.” My heart aches, and it fuels his sadistic glee.

“Ah, little Nora, right? Was that her name? I can’t remember.”

Fuck him.

Fuck him. Fuck him. Fuck him.

“She was just a baby,” I spit, the world fading away until all I see is him. I need Cassian to put me down so I can connect with the ground.

“How is she?” he asks, but I understand what he really means.

“Alive, no thanks to you.” Agony twists into fury through every ounce of my body.

“How are her legs?”

Fuck this.

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