Page 30 of Cruel Crown

Then I saw him, and my foot halted.

He was standing next to two other operatives, one who was already on a snowmobile with his helmet on. Bas stood with his mask rolled on to his forehead, his ears red due to the cold.

He was fine, and he couldn’t have been bothered to tell me in a lengthy discussion how it all had gone down. I was beyond annoyed—I was hurt.

I kept walking, prepared to pass them without a glance, but then other operative spoke. He just had his mask on, no helmet, so I couldn’t be sure who it was.

“Come on, D, I’ll give you a ride,” he said, patting his dick. The man who was on the snowmobile turned his head to look at the one who thought he was being funny, his hands gripping the handlebars.

“Why don’t you take the helmet off, that way I can see the face of whom I’ll kill before the month is over?” I spat at him. Ever since I killed Johnny, people had been wary of me. Well, at the fact that Damian hadn’t killed me for violating a law.

“One day, you won’t be so untouchable, you know?” he threatened me before he walked away.

Yeah, well, I was ready to face that day whenever it came.

The guy on the snowmobile kept looking at me.

“Is there something funny?”

I couldn’t make out a face or anything through the tinted glass on the black helmet. The agent patted the back of his bike.

“I don’t ride bitch.” I told him as I started to walk away.

“How’s that back?” Bas mocked as I was passing him.

Swinging my fist, I hit him in the stomach, making him bend a bit at where I had punched. It was all about the location. Not in the middle but a little to the side where there was less muscle. I took two more steps forward, and then with the back of my elbow, I hit his back while putting my foot out to trip him.

He fell to the ground. When I looked up, Francesca and Damian were by us. It was all an act; that’s why he had said what he did. Without giving any of them another second of my attention, I went to the last snowmobile in the row. I put my luggage on the back, strapping it to the seat. Taking a helmet, I put it on. The ride to the castle was about an hour ride on the snowmobile. There was no GPS, and it was dangerous if you went at night. The only way to get there was to use a compass. Turning my snowmobile on, I felt the engine purr to life between my legs.

This place was my home. I was born here, and I’d learned how to fight and survive here. I didn’t need to wait for anyone. With that thought in mind, I took off driving.

Wildlife fled with the roar of the motor. Wolves and bears roamed these parts since it was far from civilization. Following the guidance of the compass, I let it lead me back home.

When I made it to the bottom of the corridor, I took a left turn, going toward the dining room, knowing that’s where my parents had our visitor. It was rare when civilians were allowed into the castle. This was oursanctum sanctorum.The structure might as well be considered holy.

My father’s smooth baritone voice echoed along the walls.

“Once you sign the contract, you are ensuring your loyalty to Sekten. And in return as collateral, I give you my daughter.”

I came to a dead stop. My heart thumped around my chest hard enough to almost make the walls around me tremble. If he was telling this man this information, it meant he had given him more information than he had provided everyone else.

Sometimes I wished my babushka were here. She would have words of guidance, but she’d just disappeared. I knew what that meant, and I knew she was gone, but there was still that little kernel of hope that maybe she had been able to run away, even if she had to leave me behind.

“My child, you have a heart of stone surrounded by barbed wire. I pity the man who falls for your cruel smile. For he will have to bathe in blood, sleep in ashes, and learn that you won’t ever need him, but should you want him, then he will have gained a whole empire. Remember, my darling, you are Sekten. You do not bow to any man. You do not yield to kingdoms, and you do not swear alliance to any nation. When I am gone, know that you were the thing I loved most.”

Her words still haunted me from time to time, especially the older I got. At eighteen, we were set free to infiltrate the world, so my freedom would come in two more years.

Taking a deep breath, I squared my shoulders. We were all monsters in this kingdom, and I had to prove to them that I was the worst of them all.

Sitting at the head of the table was my father, and at the other end was a man I had never seen. He was older than me—they always were. He looked about thirty with robust features that wouldn’t be considered handsome.

“Where are your manners, girl?” my father scolded me.

Inwardly, I rolled my eyes. I turned to the man and smiled at him and curtsied. “At your service, sir.”

He cocked his head, and I saw the gleam in his eyes. “She’s perfect,” he uttered, and my father beamed.

“This is Yorovich Morozov,” my father said, and my blood ran cold. He had killed his own father to become the leader of the Bratva, and I was now his.

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