Page 58 of The Queen's Serpent

“One more thing, Santiago. Someone helped her escape from me. That person is a traitor, and I will have their head, and the heads of every member of their family. No one betrays me and keeps breathing.” He visibly gulps at my words and then turns without another word, leaving me alone with my thoughts and rage.

Once I have these fuckers pinned down or dead, I will be going after myPrincesa, and when I get my hands on her, she is going to regret ever even thinking about leaving me behind. I know I’ll thoroughly enjoy punishing her, for every moment of worry and anger she has caused me with her escape.

If she’s not knocked up yet with my baby, I am going to make sure I tie her to a fucking bed and breed her until she is. She will never escape me again, and with her by my side and giving birth to the next generation, we will rule the world. Stratford and Cabanos united for all eternity.

An image of Issy on her knees, covered in Paulo’s blood, enters my mind, her mouth pleading for mercy as she finally uttered the words that I craved so desperately to hear. Words used toattempt to placate me. Does she even truly love me? Did I do this all for nothing after all? Will she never find it in her heart to be mine?

I could offer her the world, bleeding at her feet, yet she chose to leave me the moment I had my back turned. She ran away from me as if I was a villain, and not the man who loved her beyond reason. She’s my obsession, the reason my heart started beating again after all these years of lying dormant. I can’t and won’t go back to the way it was before her. I won’t ever release her from our relationship, regardless of if it is toxic and all-consuming. Isabella Stratford was born to be mine; the fates brought us together, and no one, living or dead, will separate us.

It’s time to send Stella Stratford a message, written in blood, that she can’t stop me from having her granddaughter. No one can.

Chapter thirty-three

Issy

“Confront the dark parts of yourself, and work to banish them with illumination and forgiveness.Your willingness to wrestle with your demons will cause your angels to sing.”

August Wilson

“Princesa, wake up now, my love. It’s time to go; you have to keep moving,”Diego’s voice calls to me deep within the darkness, and a moan sounds in response.“Come now, my beautiful broken doll, you’re stronger than you think, and you will survive.”

I try to pry my tired eyes open, struggling with a groan. Every part of my body aches, and my legs feel numb, from the way I have them bent and pressed against my chest. I crack an eye open to see nothing but the canopy of thick trees and greenery above me. For a moment, I’m disoriented, thinking that Diego is here with me, and I’m back at the compound, but then my memory intrudes, and flashes of an injured Francisco have me dashing to my feet, as my breath catches in my chest.

How long was I asleep? FUCK! How could I have slept so long while Francisco was counting on me to get help? I drag my hands down my face as my stomach clenches with a painful cramp, which forces me to lean against a tree trunk. I breathe in through my nose as I try not to scream. I can’t stay here, and I need to keep moving. There are more predators in this jungle, and I’m exposed. I bend down and lift my pack, almost falling back to the ground with its weight.

Get it together, weakling. You will die in this fucking jungle if you don’t keep moving. Francisco is counting on you to get help. Diego will find you and drag you back, if you don’t get to that village! Do you want to be a prisoner for the rest of your life?

The words spur me on to move forward, even as my head spins with lightheadedness. I have to keep going. I know that I can do this, survive this jungle and escape. I can’t let Diego take me back, and live a life where I constantly worry about what he will do next.

I pull out the compass, look at the direction that it’s pointing at, and groan with frustration. I’ve already gotten off the path I needed to follow. Fuck! Okay, I need to adjust my course and keep moving forward, and sooner or later, I have to hit that village, right?

I’m going to save myself, and get the hell out of this jungle, and then I will run as far and as fast as I can from Diego Cabano.You love him, my mind reminds me. Love is not enough. It doesn’t matter if I love him; our love is corrupted, and will have the both of us continuously hurting each other, and others around us, because of it. I can’t live a life knowing that I’m continuously hurting him and myself.

I look at the compass again and charge into the thick jungle, my ears at the ready in case another animal attempts to attack me. I will survive. I have no other choice.

I’ve been walking for hours, yet still, there is no sign of the damn village, and I’m starting to doubt that I’ll ever reach it. I’m losing hope that I won’t die out here in this jungle, alone andeaten by beasts. Memories keep accosting me as I trek through the wilderness.

“Give me your hand, Princesa.” The smirk on his face is endearing. I want to deny his request but end up giving him my hand, and he pulls me off the sofa and drags me outdoors. The cool North Carolina night air meets my skin, and has goosebumps erupting all over my arms.

“Diego, it’s cold. What are we doing out here?”

“So impatient. Come with me and find out.” He drags me off the back porch and further down the yard towards the pool area. My mouth hangs open at the vision before me. The pool is completely lit up with candles on every available surface. There are even some floating on the water. One of the outdoor daybed’s frames has been draped with soft white fabric, and inside, a mountain of pillows await, and a soft faux fur blanket is draped on its end.

“What is all this?” He keeps pulling me toward the daybed, with a silly grin on his face that causes his scar to stretch tight across his cheek, and his eyes to sparkle brightly in the moonlight, making him look younger and carefree.

“Netflix and chill, but outdoors?” He laughs.

I can feel my face getting hot at the naughty way he’s wagging his dark eyebrows at me. I look back over my shoulder towards the house, but don’t see any lights on in the rooms besides the one I just vacated. I worry what my sister and her friends will think, if they spy me out here with Diego making out, or worse, what if one of my grandmother’s guards sees us and reports back to her?

“Diego, someone could see us.” I grind to a stop, feeling self-conscious.

“Are you embarrassed by me, Issy? Who are you hiding me from, hmm, your sister, grandmother, or yourself?” He pulls me forward, and his finger tilts my chin until I have no choicebut to stare into those stunning olive-green eyes. A look of disappointment crosses his face, and I instantly feel horrid for putting in there.

“Of course not. I… I just don’t want to create any problems, and you’re not exactly well-liked by my sister, especially after trying to blackmail her into marrying you.”

“That’s in the past, Issy. I never really wanted her, and you know it. She was just a means to an end.” He leans forward and skates his lips along the edge of my jaw, “You, however, are a different story. I want you. In fact, I want to do very naughty things to you, baby. The kind of things that make that pretty pussy of yours weep, and those perfect cheeks go pink.”

Heat floods my system, and I can feel my panties getting damp with his words. Diego has the filthiest mouth I’ve ever encountered, which never ceases to turn me on. He knows it, too, the bastard.

---