Page 16 of The Reign of Blood

But what about my father… Nora? My chest tightens at the thought of her with regard to our mother.

“It’s not just about me. It’s about my father, my family, my people, the entire kingdom,” I rattle off, avoiding Nora’s name, but it’s like he’s drawn to the fact as his eyes settle on mine.

“What did Kenner do to your sister?”

“It doesn’t matter,” I grunt, sharper than necessary, as I shake my head.

“Is she okay?”

“She’s better than the rest of us,” I answer honestly.

“You’re a royal. Princess Adrianna Reagan of the Floodborn Kingdom. You can do what you want. You can make him pay, you can save your mother, you can do as you see fit and no one is going to challenge that.”

My chest clenches as the title falls from his lips, but the belief that he thinks I can just do whatever I please is almost laughable.

“I am, but Addi sounds just as good, too. My title doesn’t make me who I am, and it’s never going to simply get me what I want.”

He offers me a half smile. “I can agree to that, but there’s so much more to you than what meets the eye, Dagger.”

I bite back the desire to grin at his nickname for me. I’m sitting here letting him worm his way under my skin again when I vowed to put distance between us.

My brain is a wreck, my mind isn’t focusing like I want it to, and the desire to run and hide from it all is embarrassingly overwhelming when I pledged to myself that I would destroy anything in my way.

“What’s going through your head?”

There he goes, trying to get deeper again.

I shake my head, not wanting to share anymore. “So much that I just want to pretend it doesn’t exist right now,” I admit instead.

“You can only pretend for so long.”

I turn to look at him. He’s right. Pretending only lasts so long and gets you so far, but I could combine the need to do so with the other desire that runs through my veins. It’s probably a bad idea, but not one I can see biting me in the ass, so I go with it.

Sitting tall, I turn to face him properly. “I know, but given the chance, I would give everything I am just to forget for five minutes. You could help me with that.”

He shakes his head, denying my offer, and despite the sucker punch to the gut, my head tells me it’s the right thing.

“I won’t fuck you as a distraction, Dagger.”

Sighing, I stand. I need some kind of distraction, despite how weak it makes me feel. Then, I need to refocus. “Thanks for that chat, Brody. I’ll see you around.”

I make it two steps.

Two. Fucking. Steps.

“But I’ll fuck you because it’s what we both want, Dagger. You just have to say the word.”

8

ADRIANNA

Just say the word.

Just. Say. The. Fucking. Word?

Who the fuck is this guy?

Irritation claws through me, and I can still sense his eyes along my skin as I get the fuck out of there. With a shake of my head, I back up, and take off in a sprint

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