Page 66 of Shattered Jewel

“Clean yourself up,” I command, not bothering to turn around as I adjust my own attire.

“You’re despicable,” she hisses at my back.

I don’t argue with her. I sweep my gaze over the room, taking in the debris from the desk, the open drawers, and the upturned chair. Evidence of my inability to keep myself in check when Elara is around. We need to focus on finding the other half of the ruby, not fucking my feelings out.

And that’s when I see it: slightly misaligned wood grains on one section of the underside of the chair compared to the rest, and fresh scratch marks, dents, and nicks on the right corner of its underside that look newer than the overall condition of the chair.

Curiosity piqued, I move toward it and kneel, probing at the edges.

Behind me, Elara stirs. “What are you doing?”

I run my fingers along the underside of the chair until the hidden compartment slides open with a sigh, as if relieved to finally be discovered.

Inside, tucked into the corner, is a small flash drive. The third one. My attention darts to Elara involuntarily; she’s still tangled amid my various bindings, watching me with a mixture of suspicion and anger. “You found it, didn’t you? Maverick’s final clue.”

Swiftly, I pop out the flash drive and pocket it. I straighten and face her, keeping my gaze dead and emotionless. “You can have your necklace back. That was our deal.”

“Deal?” Her brows pull together. “There is no deal. Let me see what’s on there, Kaspian.”

“No.”

To soften the blow, I untie her legs, avoiding each foot as it kicks out to connect with my forehead.

“Not until my brothers and I look at it first.”

“He is my brother?—!”

“And this is our freedom and reputations at stake!” I roar back, baring my teeth. “Your brother is dead. Nothing can bring him back. But I am going to try very hard not to have my brothers die along with him.”

Her expression twists with a mixture of anguish, grief, heartbreak—until I can’t look at it any longer. With a flick of my fingers, I untangle the chain around her wrists, freeing her.

Elara’s hair is a firestorm, her cheeks flush with humiliation and sated pleasure, her lips swollen, her body sullied.

There’s an unfamiliar pang in my chest. Something akin to regret or remorse, emotions I’m not used to experiencing.

So I leave.

“You’re a monster,” she whispers quietly after me.

I freeze for a moment before disappearing into the dark corridor.

Perhaps she’s right... as deplorable as a young Kaspian Valenti might’ve been, there’s no denying it. I am a monstrosity.

One, who despite his dark desires and vengeful ambitions, has somehow managed to imprint himself onto a girl as radiant as the sun.

Chapter 17

Elara

The cold rain bites at my skin, stinging like a thousand tiny needles, as I stumble out of Gram’s house and into my car.

I’m shocked Kaspian didn’t take it, too.

Scanning the expansive front yard in the breaking dawn, I don’t catch sight of him or any footprints telling me where he went. It’s like he was never here. Just a vengeful, pissed-off aberration haunting the manor until he got what he wanted.

My body feels used and violated, the humiliation from Kaspian’s cruel touch still lingering heavily on my skin. Clutching the necklace tightly in one hand, I start the car and make my way toward my mother’s house.

Rain pelts my face after I park, then step out and stumble through the open gates of Farrow Manor, holding the necklace close to my heart. I don’t think I’ve let it go since Kaspian flung his hand out in dismissal. It’s useless to us until it’s whole, anyway.

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