Page 63 of Cruel Crown

“And Dove?”

“And Dove is all rage. She can’t be controlled. There are no emotions, no empathy; there’s nothing but hate. It’s why the room is locked and padded. Dove is a weapon that wouldn’t think twice to pull my heart out of my chest… Dove also draws, and through those drawings, I have been trying to piece what was Ivan up to and from there, trying to find out what Damian is doing. Alexandria was Ivan’s favorite girl. He took her everywhere with him—it drove my mother crazy and to an early grave.” The words were bile in my mouth.

“Damian connected with her in a way he never did with me. A part of me was at least happy he protected her as much as he could.”

“Is that why he has her in that room?”

“He was fascinated with her. He knew what Ivan was doing to me, but he didn’t care.” I sounded bitter, and I thought I was over it, but my voice said otherwise.

Gideon held me tighter. His hand started to rub up and down my arm, trying to soothe me.

“But when Dove broke, it drove him mad. Then secrets came to light, and Ivan had uses for Damian too.”

“Fuck,” Gideon cursed. “Bas had a feeling he used him too.”

“It was only once, but that one night was more than enough,” I said. “You don’t have to worry about me dueling Damian. I’m not stupid. When I saw him step into the hall that day, I knew what was done to him. It’s so easy to recognize the dead look in his eyes; it mirrors the dead one I had been carrying for years.”

He didn’t pressure me for answers, and I was grateful.

“Damian was twenty already; he wasn’t a little boy. It took a hit on his pride. I assume Ivan kept him lucid enough for him to know what was going on but restrained enough so he couldn’t move.”

“Ivan, he…?” Gideon asked.

I shook my head.

“No, he sold him for a favor. The Sekt is supposed to be a family, but Ivan wanted a submissive kingdom under his dominion. Damian came in and asked for a duel. He taunted Ivan. Ivan was too prideful to say no to such a challenge. He chose twin scythe blades. We all gathered at the pit, and right away, you could smell death in the air. Someone always ends up dead in a duel. They fight went on for a long time. Blood was pouring from all over their bodies. Every time Ivan got a hook on Damian, he pulled back, ripping the skin so he wouldn’t hook it to any organ. His body is covered in scars. Ivan didn’t count on Damian’s agility and endurance mixed with the loathing and revenge he felt toward him. He hooked the scythe to his lower quadrant, and blood poured as he brought out organs. And when Ivan went down holding on to his gut, screaming in agony, Damian went behind him and carved both blades and pulled out his spine.”

“Bloody hell,” Gideon mumbled.

“Damian was crowned our new king, and things seemed like they were going to be a little better until they weren’t.”

I pulled away from Gideon’s embrace, knowing we had wasted enough time, and we had to get going.

“I’m so tired.” My voice was close to sounding like it was laced with defeat.

One second I was on the ground, the next Gideon had me in his arms, and he started to walk back to where we came from.

“It’s okay, Petal. You can take all my strength. I would offer to take away your pain, but I’m so fucking selfish that I would never do that because if I did, you’d stop being you, and I think you’re fucking spectacular.”

I was glad for the darkness because it allowed me to crack without him seeing it.

Gideon

Strategizing wasn’t something I usually did. I was more of a let-the-chips-fall-where-they-fucking-may kinda guy. Plans always fell apart, and since I was always on my own, it didn’t matter who I had to kill or fuck over to make it out alive.

That wasn’t the case anymore.

Every move had to be calculated, and if I fucked up, the woman who was in my arms might get ripped out of them, and I was not about to let any of that happen.

I watched her as she talked to Alexis, and it took everything in me not to barge in. The pain was plainly etched on her face. I’d heard about dissociative identity disorder, but I had never seen a case.

That girl had not one but three personalities. As much as I was fascinated, waiting to see all of them, I couldn’t imagine my petal being like that, stuck in a fragile mind.

When we made it to the bottom of the tunnel, I put her down. She took a deep breath, jutted her chin, and walked out without a backward glance at me. I waited a few minutes before I went out.

After a few minutes, I went out the door and back to my room. As soon as I got there, I went to my bag where I had hidden the brooch I’d stolen. I was going to give it to Daphne today with one condition.

I grinned to myself because I was a fucking asshole. I grabbed it and put it with my stuff so I could bring it tonight to Daphne’s room. I knew Damian would be getting here soon, and I needed to talk to him.

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