Page 2 of Crown of Lies

Then I bolt in the opposite direction.

“Shit!”

“Get her!”

Their deep voices ring out behind me, but I don’t bother trying to distinguish who’s speaking as I put all of my focus into running as fast as I can without missing a step and going down. I grit my teeth, a cold sweat breaking out on my skin as I pump my arms, racing through the wooded area that surrounds the once-standing clubhouse. Branches and dry grass crunch beneath my feet, thin tree limbs catching against my skin and clothes. My heart pounds against my ribs, my lungs burning from the exertion as I push myself to go faster.

It only took the Princes a second to regroup after I broke out of Nico’s grasp, and I can hear them behind me, hot on my heels.

Unbidden, my mind flashes back tothatnight. To the chase through the cemetery, when I became prey to a trio of predators that I welcomed with such ferocity it surprised me to my very core. What happened between the four of us that night was wild and primal, breaking down the walls I’d tried to put up and forcing me to acknowledge that there was something between us.

But even that was a lie.

No matter how real it felt.

My anger fuels me, spurring me to run faster, harder. My legs burn, and I can’t breathe. But I can’t let them catch me this time. I can’t let the Princes of Carnage destroy what’s left of me—or my heart.

Just like that night though, the odds are three against one.

The sound of cracking twigs and footsteps hitting the earth reach my ears, giving me a rough idea of where the men are. I’m flanked on either side, with one of them still behind me. I can’t distinguish who’s where, so I just keep running, flying through the woods. On my left side, the footsteps get closer before veering away again, and a burst of adrenaline surges through me.

They’re going to catch me.

My heart feels like it’s about to beat out of its cage.Faster, faster, I can’t let them?—

One hand closes around my wrist, and our momentum sends me and the fucker who grabbed me careening into the ground. My temple smacks against a patch of hard dirt, and I can hear Killian’s distinctive grunt as he goes down on top of me.

Of course it’d be him who got to me first. But unlike the previous times he’s chased me, this time I have no desire to be caught.

And I won’t give in without a fight.

Twisting beneath him, I lash out, managing to land a right hook on his face.

“Fuck!” he grunts, his voice low and intense.

I hate how the sound sends a shiver down my spine.

I spit at him, kick my feet, and headbutt him, causing him to reel back a little. It opens up enough space between us for me to scramble out of his hold—only for another one of them to grab me.

Atlas.

“Still plenty vicious, I see,” Atlas growls, and there isn’t an ounce of affection in the nickname the way there once was.

“Fuck you!” I knee him in the gut just to show him how vicious I can be, and that earns me a hard shove against the tree behind us.

His body anchors me there, and I can’t move. The whole of his broad-shouldered frame pins me down, and as hard as I wriggle and squirm, Atlas isn’t budging.

Unable to use my fists as weapons, I turn my head and I bite into his forearm, sinking my teeth into his flesh so hard that I taste blood.

I’ll show you who’s fucking vicious.

He hisses sharply but doesn’t let me go. He shoves me harder, his arms pressing into my chest until I can barely breathe. The pressure forces my inhales and exhales into pathetic wheezes, but I don’t cry out. The Princes are no longer allowed to see my tears.

“I was hoping we could do this the easy way, mia cara,” Nico says, coming up to stand beside Atlas. His chest is heaving, exertion from hunting me down quickening his breath and making his face shine with sweat. His eyes are dark, his pupils so blown out there’s no color in them anymore.

He looks like a god of death.

And I fuckinghatehim for it.

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