Page 62 of The Queen's Serpent

I’m pulled back from the memory of the first day of my new life. The day I knew I had to not only survive for me, but for my baby. “I can’t see it, so it doesn’t bother me, Rachel.” I smile and take a sip of my water as I turn away from my roommate, and stare back at the ocean.

So much has already happened since that day when I discovered that I was going to be a mom. Now, I’m once again facing a crossroads, and I’m unsure of the road to take. I wanted to do this alone, to hide away from the world and have this beautiful life with my baby, but life has once again thrown me a curveball. I have to do whatever I can to save my child, and for that, I needhim.

Memories and dreams plague me in this peaceful town. Signs of him are everywhere, even though I never visited here with him. All of his stories have left his ghost everywhere I look.

I can no longer ignore what my heart is begging for; the need to reach out to him, and hope he doesn’t betray me. Although Idon’t need a savior anymore, I still need him.He wouldn’t, he loved me.

Yes, loved, as in past tense, as in no more. I live with the guilt daily that I caused that to happen. Do I even have the right to drag him into this mess?Do I have another choice?I can’t keep going like this; this baby is my everything, and without his help, it may not survive to live a full life.

“I’ll be right back, just taking a walk to stretch my legs.” I smile down at Rachel as she gets the look of an overprotective mother hen. I know she’s worried about me and the baby. If I’m being honest, I am too.

I grab my burner phone, walk down the beach, and dial a number I never thought I would again. My heart races in my chest, and I almost disconnect the call on the first ring.

“Hello?” The rough voice on the phone has my insides tightening, and sweat slickening my hands. What if I’m doing the wrong thing? What if this puts him in danger? What if my grandmother finds me through him?

Worst of all, what if he tells me to go to hell and hangs up the phone? What will I do then? How will I help my baby?Survive, we will survive, with or without him.My hand rests against my rounded stomach, the curve now present and impossible to hide on my small frame. I have no choice but to survive and keep going; it’s no longer just about me anymore.

“Kai, please don’t hang up.”

“Isabella?” The name is said with disbelief. “What the fuck! Where are you? I thought you were dead. The news has been reporting your death for weeks. They say you were kidnapped and taken for ransom against your grandmother.”

“KAI! I don’t have much time. I can’t explain now, but you can’t tell anyone that I am alive. I am being hunted, Kai, and they will recapture and take me back.” I brace myself against the beach wall, my legs threatening to buckle at just the thought ofwhat Diego Cabano would do, if he found me now. The violence and ruthlessness that he is capable of terrifies me.

“Isabella, holy shit. Are you safe, baby?”

His voice soothes me immediately, and his use of the word‘baby’reassures me that I have done the right thing, and pulled on the right thread. “Do you remember where you told me the seagulls like to play in the sand, and waves feel like magic at twilight?”

“Seagulls, waves? Isabella, just tell me where you are so I can come to you to keep you safe, please, baby.”

“Come find me in the waves, Kai, and keep me a secret, or it will mean my death.”

I disconnect the call, pull the SIM out, and snap it, throwing both it and the phone into the nearest garbage can, and then continuing down the beach, waiting for my prince charming to arrive, while hoping the beast doesn’t find me first.

“But he did not understand the price. Mortals never do.

They only see the prize, their heart’s desire, their dream...

But the price of getting what you want,

is getting what you once wanted.”

Neil Gaiman, The Sandman,Vol. 3: Dream Country

That is the end for now.

Get more of Issy, Diego, Kai, and the rest of the Casbury clan inVenomous King, the conclusion to this story.Preorder it here!

If you want to learn more about the original Casbury crew and Issy’s sister, Mia. You can find her inReign of the Queen. Get it here!

If you are intrigued about the original Stratford“Ice Queen”you can meet Stella Stratford inRise of a Kingdom. Get it here!

Chapter thirty-five

Diego

“Without obsession, life is nothing.”

John Waters

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