Page 66 of From the Ashes

“Camilla!” Crew snaps, his eyes flaring with anger.

“Princess,” Kaos warns, while Bishop and Kovu are staring at me with a mixture of fear and rage. Yeah, if we somehow claw our way out of this situation, my ass is getting the beating of a lifetime, and I’ll take every second of it if it means we’re all still alive.

I swallow past the tears that rise up the back of my throat. This is what my dad always said would be my downfall. My emotions. My empathy. My love. But up until now, I didn’t realize how wrong he was.

Because my emotions make me strong.

And my empathy makes sure I never lose sight of my humanity, no matter how many lives end at my hand.

And my love? The love I feel for others gives me something to fight for, something to live for, and even if I die right here in the middle of this creepy cemetery, I’ll do so having known the love of four men.

I roll my lips to stop them from wobbling as I take a moment to look each of them over.

Kovu looks like he’s ready to throw himself between me and any harm that may come to me. His wild blue eyes flick between me and Caleb as he calculates how long it would take to get to me.

Bishop looks murderous, maybe more so than I’ve ever seen him. He’s generally the most even-tempered of the group, but right now the daggers he’s glaring at me make me glad looks can’t kill.

Kaos has his head down, the tension in his shoulders so thick that I wonder if he can actually snap the ties around his wrists.

And Crew looks shattered. It’s rare for him to show emotion like this. So fucking rare that my stomach rolls, and I wonder if I’m making a mistake or if by doing this, by allowing my men to live, is the greatest gift I could ever give them.

Caleb chuckles, and I tear my eyes off my men to look up at him. Once again, I’m struck by how similar he looks to his son, but I can see the things he must have gotten from his mother. Where Caleb’s jaw is rounder, Kaos’s is angular and strong. Where Caleb’s body is lean, Kaos’s is built for fighting, and for the first time, I can actually see why I never figured out they were related.

“As touching as the sentiment is, unfortunately they have many more sins to repent for than just killing the love of my life.”

I drag my bottom lip between my teeth at the same time the guy behind me grasps me around the throat, cutting off my airway.

“Choose, Camilla,” Caleb growls as he steps toward my men. Each step he takes has bile rising higher in my throat despite the fact I can’t breathe.

He stops in front of Crew and holds his gun to his head, and a choked cry escapes me despite myself. There’s something about watching the man you love moments from death that puts everything into perspective.

“It would make sense for you to choose dear old brother here,” he muses. “He’s the oldest. Will live the least amount of time and is least likely to want to give you an heir to your kingdom.”

The hand around my throat tightens, and despite my best efforts to appear stoic, my mouth drops open as my body tries desperately to get air.

Caleb takes another step until the gun is pointed at the center of Bishop’s forehead, but he seems anything but scared. “What about Bishop? He’s the one that dragged you in from the cold and the reason you ever found yourself with them. Wouldn’t your life have been so much simpler if it weren’t for his meddling?”

If I could talk, I’d remind him that the alternative was marrying Charles Davenport, and I was even less interested in that fate than almost any other I could have found myself in.

Next is Kaos, who glares up at his father, nothing but hatred in his dark gaze. God, I hope I’m never at the end of one of those looks, because even though he hated me to begin with, he never terrified me quite as much as he does right now.

“What about my son? He handed you over to Charles without hesitation. I wondered which one of them would do it, and to be honest, I thought it would be Crew, but Charles was right on the money with Kaos. He discarded you like you meant nothing to any of them.”

The lack of oxygen is beginning to make me lightheaded, and my eyes droop closed as I desperately fight to remain conscious.

“Or there’s Kovu. He’s not much good to you in the long run, if you ask me. He’s always been unstable, so you’re never going to want him near your kids, and even if he somehow managed to tame the wild beast that lives inside him, is he who you want going to your kids’ career day? He’ll terrify them.”

My eyes pop open, and I find Kovu staring right back at me. His entire demeanor remains calm despite the barrel of the gun that’s pressed to his forehead, and he gives me the smallest nod.

He thinks I’m going to choose him. He’s giving me permission to do it.

But there’s no fucking way I’m losing any of them.

Every vile word out of Caleb’s mouth has made me angrier than the last, and I want to end him for ever thinking them.

A man steps up behind Caleb and whispers something in his ear before annoyance crosses his face. “Deal with them,” he barks. “Gotta hurry this up, Camilla. I got places to go, people to see.”

The hand drops from around my throat, and I fall forward, greedily sucking in lungfuls of air that hurt more than they bring relief.

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