Page 91 of Red Captive

“Well, believe it.” His voice is choked.

“What happened?”

He sniffs, taking a few moments to pull himself together. “I fell in love with someone. Deeply and totally in love. I thought she was the one. I was so fucking happy, but instead of the forever-after I envisioned, everything turned into a fucking nightmare.”

I frown. “What happened?”

“Four and a half years ago, I met Lake, and we instantly clicked. It was like I found the other half of me.”

I feel a stab inside my chest. I really don’t want to be jealous of this mystery woman because it’s clear that something bad happened involving her. It ruined Steel’s life, and the queen lost hers. I can’t help it; I get jealous anyway. I nod, urging him to go on.

“We fell into a whirlwind love affair. At least, I thought it was love, but it turned out that she was playing me all along for information. Information I readily gave her. Information that was sacred to my role as the lieutenant and head of the royal guard. It was my first and foremost duty to keep the royals safe. To keep the king and queen safe, and I fucked up.”

“What information?”

“Lake and I had been together about six months. We spent every spare moment together…most of it in bed.”

There’s more stabbing in my chest. More of that jealousy winding its way through me. I do my best to push it aside. It’s stupid.

“I had just asked her to mate with me, and she said yes. We went ring shopping, and were planning the wedding. It was amazing. My mom was so happy. My poor family.” He looks down at his lap.

“What happened next?”

He licks his lips. “It was a whirlwind. A blur. A happy haze. We hung out with Arctic and Anya all the time. Lake was accepted and pulled into the circle. She was privy to all sorts of information just by being with them. We had fun together. She became like part of the furniture, so to speak. It was all so easy. Too fucking easy. I trusted her implicitly. Just like I would trust my own right arm not to hurt me or betray me.” He lifts the arm in question, looking at it as if it were a foreign object. Anger and hurt burn in his eyes.

“And Lake betrayed your trust?”

He throws out a laugh. “She played me. When I think back, I realize that she knew exactly what to say. What to do. How to be. How to push my buttons and get under my skin. She was a fantastic con artist, and I was her stupid-as-fuck mark.”

“What did she want? I’m not understanding any of this.”

“When Arctic took the crown from his father, he made big changes. He went into talks with the Mainland. He stopped the building of the tunnel that led to Draig. It was his late father’s wish to raid Draig and slaughter the Draigers in their droves. Arctic wants peace. He wants to mend the rift between the two islands. He’s brought about so much change. He encourages growth and development on the island. But not everyone on Mistveil has been happy with the changes. At first, there was a lot of pushback. He has since gained many followers. But not everyone loves him or wants him in power. There are factionswho believe that he is no good for Mistveil, for us Reds. They want him dead. They want to see a new king in his place.”

I nod, my full attention on Steel.

“I believe that Lake worked for one of these factions. That she was sent to seduce me to get to him…the king. Arctic was the real mark. He was supposed to die, but his mate took the bullets for him.”

“I’ve never seen a gun on Mistveil.”

“They’re illegal. But just as with any contraband, they get smuggled onto the island.”

“What happened?” I ask.

“Anya threw herself in the way of the gunfire and was shot seven times. Three times in the chest, twice in the head, twice in the leg. She died in Arctic’s arms. He was hit once. It was a bullet that passed through her into him.”

I gasp, covering my mouth with my hand. “That’s terrible. The poor guy. I can’t imagine something so horrific happening.” To see the love of his life dead. To not be able to do anything to stop it or to change it. “I still don’t get how any of this is your fault. Not really. I take it that Arctic trusted Lake, as well. What information did she get that led to this?”

“The shooting took place in their bedroom, which is locked up tighter than Fort Knox at night. The only way to get in or out is with a code. A six-digit code that only the three of us knew.”

“No.”

“Yes.” He swallows again.

“What happened?”

He nods once, his eyes on the far wall for a few moments. “I’m not sure how it came up. Again, when I think back, I realize how fucking clever Lake was. How she wove things into our everyday conversation. Things about the king, about his comings and goings. I didn’t even realize I was being duped, but I was. It was all so calculated, but I should have seen it. I shouldhave known. I’m not even sure how that particular conversation started. We were in bed, laughing, and fooling around. I won’t make excuses. I could, but I won’t. It all led to her asking what the code could possibly be. Was it a birthday, an anniversary, lucky numbers? It was playing around. I trusted her…fuck.”

“You told her the code to their bedroom?” Please, no. Surely not.

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