Page 63 of The Broken Queen

“Rav,” I used her nickname, something that she loved to hear coming from my lips. I needed her to trust me, to understand what I was wanting. Her gaze met mine, and I thought there was a trace of unshed tears in her eyes. “I want you. I’ve always wanted you. When I said that I would break up with her, I meant it.”

Her thoughts were running wild, her face was set in stone as if she was thinking over everything. “Then why did you get with her in the first place?”

I should’ve known she was going to ask that question. Kyra and I had an arrangement. We were using each other, but not for what she thought. I never had sex with Kyra, and I barely kissed her. I didn’t love her. I wasn’t in love with her like I was Raven. I didn’t miss her when she was gone, thinking about how she was doing being trapped inside her own mind.

“We were using each other. I didn’t go far with her. She wasn’t my forever, you are.”

She went quiet again, but I unbuckled my seatbelt and moved closer. I took her face in my hands, tilted up her chin, and pressed my lips to hers. If she couldn’t believe the words coming from my mouth, then I would show her how much she meant to me.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Raven

There was a pounding in my head as a warm light hit my eyelids. They opened slowly, crust surrounding them as if I’d been asleep for longer than a few hours. My mouth was dry, and my stomach was growling. The urge to pee was uncomfortable, but I was more concerned about where I was at and how I had gotten here.

I was laying in a king-sized bed, the comforter was a soft royal blue with specs of brown and white. My feet moved around in the silky sheets, as I stretched out my body from a deep sleep. I sat up, ignoring the static in my hair, and removed the comforter from my legs. Removing the crust from my eyes, I looked around and noticed there was no one in the bed with me. I also noticed that I had nothing on but a skimpy red nightgown.Whoever put me here sure liked the thought of me in red.

Was I in an alternate reality?Did that really happen with Slade last night or was I dreaming it? Temporarily ignoring my emotions, I quickly hopped off the bed and onto the hardwood flooring, running towards the first door I saw. When I turned on the light, a sigh of relief escaped me when I realized this was in fact the bathroom.

The bathroom had a large walk-in closet attached, so I made use of what I could find. There was a mix of girl and boy clothes, I assumed whoever lived here was a couple. The bathroom was massive.Just my style.

There was a soaking tub that had a separate shower. There were “his and hers” sinks, and a large window resting above thetub. Marble floors outlined the bottom, and granite countertops made the room look extremely elegant yet simple.

Home.

I shook off the weird thought and ventured out of the room. The crisp and greasy smell of bacon filled my nostrils. My stomach growled again, reminding me that I needed to eat. I couldn’t remember the last time I had.Oh, that smells yummy.

I wandered down the halls and the house became more familiar with each turn. I didn’t get to see too much of the house yesterday, but I could easily tell that this was Slade’s house. When I finally made it to the large kitchen with granite countertops, a massive island, dining table and enormous amounts of counter and cabinet space, I sawhimstanding at the stove, cooking. I quietly pulled out a bar chair and took a seat.

He had ESPN on the television in the background, and he seemed completely consumed with his thoughts. His back was bare, apart from the smooth tattoos that were tattooed across his back. A mix of his past experiences and tributes to his parents. He was a sight for sore eyes, and whenever I had him, I was lucky enough to call him mine. It was too bad though, that we weren’t at that point in our lives. That I had to give myself over to a monster, and that he left me all those years ago. Pining, waiting on bated breath for him to return. Leaving me a crumbled mess in that hallway, watching him being dragged off. Seeing the cold look in his eyes as if he didn’t give a fuck who I was.

I watched him as he moved around the kitchen like he owned the place, which he did, but watching him be a normal human being, was different.

The world around us expected so much from us growing up. I was supposed to be perfect in every aspect, and he was the golden boy. He could do no wrong, and he was on a fast track in the sports world if he would’ve kept up with it.He didn’t, though.

“You’re crazy. You can’t stay here for me. You wanted to go back home, to go to college there and get drafted. Don’t you remember that?”

We were back in my room after the ride home, and he was still going on about how he wanted to marry me. How he wanted to be a part of this crazy life.

I couldn’t see how anyone would want to be a part of this. Father had me trapped here, I couldn’t do that to Slade. He could go home and have a future back in the US. There was no future here. Just a world of heartache.

He shook his head. “You’re the most frustrating woman I’ve ever met. Why can’t you just get over the fact that I want to be with you?”

I turned away from him and went to my window. I opened the crimson curtains and pointed to the iron clad gates with guards surrounding them. “This...this is why. I’m trapped here...in this prison. He hasn’t let me out of his sight since Mother passed. Why do you think it will be so easy to persuade him? You’ve seen the suitors he’s been lining up for me. He won’t go for it.”

My stomach churned at the thought of going to Father and giving him the news. That Slade wanted to fight for me...that he wanted to marry me. Slade wasn’t royalty. Father wouldn’t like that. Slade wasn’t rich. Father wouldn’t like that. Slade didn’t have any ties to the Mafia. Father wouldn’t like that. There was a long list of things that while Father didn’t mind Slade being my friend, he wouldn’t settle for him becoming my husband and the next future King of this Kingdom.

He would lock me in the dungeon or sell me before that ever became a thing.

He came close to me, as if his proximity wasn’t enough to drive me fucking crazy. His silver gaze was focused, heated. His tantalizing lips were calling my name. I didn’t want to talkanymore, I just wanted him. I wanted him to touch every part of me. To drive me to the brink of insanity. “Leave it to me. Your father will change his mind about me, mark my words.”

He was so determined to have Father like him. I wasn’t sure why. He wasn’t a good person to have in your corner and if you did, he would easily stab you in the back. He did that to me, and I was sure he did it to Mother.

He leaned down to kiss me, but there was a knock on the door. He pulled back and ran a hand through his hair, taking another step back. I moved around him, my feet heavy, heading towards the door, holding my breath.

I opened the door, releasing that same breath, when the door swung open to Elijah on the other side. While I didn’t care for him, he was better than the alternative.

Elijah pushed through my room, completely ignoring the fact that I was standing right in front of him. I didn’t know what his fucking problem with me was. He was always rude to me. It didn’t matter that I was a princess, or queen or royalty for that matter. He didn’t give a fuck. He didn’t give a shit about me or who I was.

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