Page 33 of Queen of Wrath

All he could do was nod, swallowing the horror and defeat threatening to show on his face.

Diesel was on to him.

Lunaira, help us all.

13

LEA

My stomach churned and rippled painfully as I reached up to the tall lavender door in front of me.

I distracted myself with how ostentatious the color of it looked compared to the other houses around. It was so like Akil, extravagant and without equal.

Why am I even here? I could have contacted Rowan when I got home. I didn’t need to bother Akil with this.

I nervously pressed my lips together. There was movement on the other side of the door. He was home.

The truth was, I didn’t want to go home. Or be alone right now. Not after what happened.

The door swung open, and Akil stood before me with elation in his eyes.

“Miss Mirth, what a lovely surprise! To what do I owe this ple—” He stopped after seeing the look on my face. His expression fell, and he motioned for me to enter, quickly closing the door behind me.

I imagined how pathetic I must’ve looked to him.

My makeup was all smeared up, and don’t even get me started on the disarray that was my hair.

“You look like you’ve been dragged for miles behind a horse cart! What happened?” He put his arm around me, and I was reminded of how sore I was.

The potion Jax had given me had at least healed my wounds, but the soreness underneath still lingered like a night of heavy drinking did the following morning.

“We need to call Rowan.” The tone in my voice was grave as I locked eyes with Akil.

Usually, he would make some joke to lighten the mood, or shimmy a flirtatious pass into the conversation, but after registering the seriousness of the situation, he likely decided against it. “I’ll get in contact with her right away.”

He helped me into one of his purple leather couches in his living room before rushing into his office.

I took this time to evaluate my quiet, unmoved surroundings. I tried to search for peace, but it seemed too far out of reach.

My heart felt like it was about to give out.

My thumbs danced nervously around each other.

Every part of my body throbbed with the residing pain the potion hadn’t been able to fix, but I couldn’t help but be grateful. Things could have gone a lot worse than it had.

If Diesel was the one who got his hands on me instead of Jax, he would have tortured me, discovered who I really am, and killed me and everyone associated with me…

Something hot dripped down my cheek and I quickly wiped it away.

I couldn’t say for sure why I was crying. One overwhelming emotion after the other swept over me in swarms, making it impossible to pin it on a single one.

Was it because I’d failed? Or did fear and uncertainty of the future have a part in it? I lowered my head into my hands, massaging my scalp.

It's alright. I've had far worse things happen to me before, I told myself. I’ll get through this.

The mission wasn't over. I still had to make the Ransoms suffer for what they’d done to me.

Jax’s face flashed into my mind.

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