Page 128 of Ruthless Kings of Havoc

I can only wonder what that conversation stems from, but from how Matteo tilts his head and narrows his eyes, Keir groans and looks my way.

“I’m sorry for insulting you when you didn’t know of our existence,” he pleads and even reaches out to hold my hands. “See. Even my Maiden doesn’t get an apology from me. Be grateful.”

“You’re cocky as fuck,” I mutter without even thinking.Oops.“Zander would hate you.”

The snicker that follows comes from the prince, surprising us while Keir looks insulted with me bringing up Zander.

“Two peas in a pod,” Theo begins.

Keir lets go of my hands to get this man in an actual chokehold.

“Spill a word more, and I’ll end you,” he growls, causing Theo to laugh despite struggling to breathe.

“All I need is a drop of blood and—” Theo begins and chokes when Keir tightens his hold.

“Keir! You’re hurting a royal!” Sia snaps at him.

“Shut the fuck up, Sia. No one listens to your royal ass, anyway.”

The longer I look at Keir, the more reason for me to wonder why he is a bit similar in personality to Zander. The only real difference is obviously their skin complexion.

So they can’t be related… right?

It makes me want to try something a tad bold.

“Keir.” The way I say his name has him still immediately. It’s not extremely stern, but I feel like it’s something I’d do with Zander. “Can we get back to business?”

The tension around us spikes as everyone stares at me, but I remain still and firm with my declaration, waiting for a response.

“I don’t like her,” Keir finally declares, but he does release Theo.

“This is why Zander hasn’t gone all unhinged now that Domino’s out of the picture,” Theo mutters. “You’re not scared of death, are you, little Maiden?”

“I may be short, but I’m not little,” I point out with a cross of my arms over my chest. I doubt he’ll get rid of that add-on, but I want to make my point across. “As for Death, when you face it enough times, you have to determine which instance is most deserving of your reaction. If it’s in my control, I’ll do it myself.”

None of them expect me to say that final part. Even Sia, who has been scowling this while, looks surprised by my commentary.

“Y-You don’t really mean that, yes?” Ishya speaks up. It’s like hearing a mouse squeak in the midst of silence.

“Mean what?” I don’t understand what the sudden big deal is. “Taking your life if it’s threatened? Of course, I mean it.”

I glance over my shoulder to look at her eyes. She seems devastated by my words, which may have to do with her religion or the practices they follow in their culture.

I can only assume.

“Life is precious, yes, but I’m not going to let alone steal my life away when it’s mine to live or take away,” I enforce. “You think when my Ruthless King watched as a Zamboni was seconds from running over me that I’d let it happen? Fuck that.”

“You mean that insolent puppet who’s desperately seeking his father’s Empire actually tried to kill you?” Sia sounds insulted at the idea. It’s the most emotion she’s expressed this entire time. “And you… were going to kill yourself?”

When someone else says it—paints such a picture—it sounds a bit drastic, but I stand by my words.

“Gun to my head,” I say with a shrug and realize I should have asked Matteo permission to share far too much. I look for him immediately, noticing the hint of concern in his eyes. He doesn’t look angry. He looks almost sad that I’m able to admit such. “Sorry. I think I said too much.”

He shakes his head as he snakes an arm around me, pulling me against him.

“The reason why Domino lost his opportunity as Ruthless King is that he deliberately allowed the possibility for a Ruthless Maiden to want to kill herself,” he announces surprisingly.

The appalling news makes Ishya gasp while Sia looks visibly paler. Makes me realize how platinum blonde her hair is whileher eyes are a vibrant mix of green and blue. The red lipstick is what makes her lips pop the most, but seeing her look so sickened has me wondering if suicide is some trigger for her.

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