Page 10 of The Broken Queen

Julianna's blue eyes widened, but then went back to normal as she popped another grape in her mouth. She proceeded to grab her backpack and, as she unzipped it; she pulled out a bright, blue bunny.

My eyes immediately snapped to Markus.Help!If he had gotten to her at school, then they weren't watching her as well as we thought.

Markus kept his jade gaze on me as he spoke into his earpiece. A few minutes later, he was gone from the room. I was frozen in place as Julianna graciously went about eating her grapes and doing her homework. She didn't realize the kind of effect she had on me with her words.

Daddy gave it to me.She said it as if it was the most normal thing in the world, but it wasn't. Her daddy left us three years ago when shit had gotten difficult. In reality, I couldn't blame him for leaving. If I could have left, I would’ve in a heartbeat, but the truth was that I had no right to leave. This was a cage, and I was a chained raven. I wouldn't turn my back on my people just because I couldn't breathe behind my own walls. It was a sacrifice that needed to be made.

I tried to wipe the shock from my face and resumed dinner as normally as I could. "You saw your daddy today?"

She smacked her lips and talked while she ate. "Yep. Daddy came to visit me at lunch today. He ate with me and gave me a bunny!"

Her excitement shattered my heart. How could he do this to her? How could he visit her without my knowledge and expect to get away with it? More importantly, why the hell didn't he let me know he was back?

I was stiff the entire time I made dinner. My thoughts were elsewhere, and I was sure Julianna could tell.

"Damn, something smells delicious in here," Father poked his head into the kitchen and his face lit up when he saw Julianna sitting at the island.

He walked over and placed a kiss on her forehead as he took a seat next to her. When he saw me looking, he just nodded and averted his attention back to her. That was how it always was. Julianna came first, and I came last. I had no issues with it, really. Honestly, I would prefer all of his attention on her so I could breathe easier, but there was no way that would happen. Not with the fate of the country in my hands.

“How was your day, Princess?” he asked in that sickly sweet tone of his. The one heneverused with me.

"It was great! I saw my Daddy today!" she replied with the same excitement she had earlier. I turned away from them, grabbed the pot holders and took the pot pie out of the oven. Satisfied it was finished, I turned off the oven and took out some plates.

Father grunted in distaste and the burn from his eyes was enough to set me up in flames, and not in a good way.

"Is that so?" he said through clenched teeth and probably with every ounce of self-control he had left.

In an attempt to create some sort of peace offering between us, I dished up his and Julianna's plates with a fork and napkin and placed them on the bar. I gulped when his hard gaze met mine.

To this day, he still scared the hell out of me, but for some stupid reason I’ll never understand, I still wanted his approval.After being held captive, forced to murder someone and tortured for the hell of it, it still wasn’t enough to please him. I wasneverenough for anyone.

Before Mother died, he was a kind, gentle soul. Of course, I didn’t know that kindness to the extent of others, but that’s what I’d heard around the kingdom. People had respected him while I more often than not, couldn’t stand him. But ever since she left us on this Godforsaken spit of land, Father turned back into the cold-hearted bastard I knew and hated. Thateveryonenoticed. Not for Julianna, though.Never for her.He was the doting grandfather that could probably win a fucking award if he wanted to.

She was completely unaware of the tension in the room as she stuffed her face with food. "Yep. He said he's coming back for me."

My gaze snapped to hers, and an eerie chill covered my body in bumps. Father cleared his throat, and I turned away from them, unable to catch my breath. My daughter didn't lie, so I knew for a fact that every word that came from her mouth was true.

I placed my hands on the counter and tried to remove the tiny black dots from my vision.He was coming back...for her. Did that mean he was ready to take his place on the throne? Was he ready to be a family? What did this mean for me?

I swallowed the heavy lump in my throat. I couldn't gather enough air into my lungs and I knew from the heat of his gaze that Father was stewing and ready to give me the third degree. Ihadto get out of here, but I couldn’t.

“Julianna, why don’t you take your food into the living room? Markus will get you all set up with some cartoons; how does that sound?”

I turned back around and gave her a reassuring smile, even though on the inside, my organs twisted in knots. Her concernedgaze continued to stare holes in my soul. Julianna was the smartest four-year-old in the world and she knew just as well as I,, that what he had planned was not suitable for the child’s eye. She nodded and gathered her things. She left the kitchen without a word, leaving me to take his wrath.

He raised a dark eyebrow. “Did you know?”

I scoffed. “Of course I didn’t know. And even if I did, I sure as hell wouldn’t tell you!”

“That’s quite enough, Raven. The disrespect you have for your King is-”

I cut him off. “With all due respect, Father, you are not my King. You haven’t been since I was twelve. You and I both know Slade is the rightful King.”

His hands curled into fists as he slammed them on the bar. I flinched and took a step back, ramming my back into the granite counter. “He’s the one who left,” he said through gritted teeth.

I raised to my full height and challenged him. I knew this would get me backhanded, or worse, but he was delusional if he thought anyone could replace Slade. “Because you ran him off!”

He lowered his resolve and placed his head of dark hair in his hands. “That’s because I know what he did. I know he hurt you.”

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