Page 96 of Devious Knight

When Parker makes his way onto the stage and I see him for myself live in the flesh, my mind fractures and the splinters ricochet down my body.

Oh my God.

It’s really him…

Walking in line with the painting behind him of angels and demons battling with each other, he looks like he just stepped out of the section depicting hell in the sky.

This man has been the cause of my misery for so many years, and here he is.

I feel sick, like I’m going to throw up and never stop. Or like I might just fade away into the ether and cease to exist.

Parker and Chancellor Potalov shake hands, then he stands before us, tall and proud with his longish blond hair and wide shoulders that fill out his black suit.

He doesn’t look that much older than when I last saw him, but then not many adults change significantly over three years. He must be about fifty now. The same age as my father.

He looks like a leader and I feel like I’m having that weird experience again, where I’ve walked through the wrong door and am in an alternate fucked-up reality.

How did things just get worse than they already were?

How?

Chapter Twenty-Two

Kade

Isabelle looks paler than a ghost.

If she goes a shade lighter, she’ll disappear and I won’t be able to see her.

The only thing I’ve ever seen her react to in such a way is me. But I actually think she looks worse.

I follow her gaze and see she’s fixed on Parker. But I don’t know why he’d produce such a dark reaction from her.

Parker Federov is one of the best men I know.

He was my father’s best friend. He was as close to him as Dmitri and Logan are to me.

That’s why Dad made him my godfather. After my parents died Parker would have taken me in if he hadn't been traveling so much with his job. He’s an art and antiquities expert.

Despite his work commitments he still offered me a home, giving my aunt and uncle the choice. That’s how close he was to our family and still is. It was more fitting for me to live with my aunt and uncle but I was always grateful to him for offering.

I haven’t seen him in close to a year but not a month goes by that I don’t hear from him.

I knew he was going to be the new lord chancellor before we even started our freshman year here. He called me and personally told me.

I was excited about it and excited for the chance to see a guy who’s been like another father to me. So today was no surprise. Not like it seems to be for Isabelle.

As the meeting wears on, she actually looks worse, but there’s nothing that Parker is saying that would make her look that way.

Everything he’s talking about is positive, but then again, she looked the way she does even before he opened his mouth to speak.

I divide my attention between her and Parker. Every time I look at her, I wonder what in the hell about Parker has her worked up so much.

The meeting ends half an hour later and everyone gets up to leave.

Isabelle, however, looks like she’s ready to bolt out of her skin. As she gets up, I notice the tremor in her legs. She stumbles and falls forward, but I’m right there to catch her so she falls into my chest.

I hold her tiny body while she grips my jacket. “Easy, there,” I say, but she’s not paying attention to me.

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