Page 40 of Twisted Kings

The house was old but looked like an upscale Airbnb. An Aga took pride of place on one wall, with a hearth perfect for dogs to laze in front of, while on the far side of the room, I spotted a modern oven and other appliances, including a high-end coffee machine that had me craving another coffee.

An upholstered window seat caught my attention, and I imagined sitting there with a novel.

Nobody said a word for a few moments as I looked around. Then Kyril jumped out of his chair.

“Sit down,kotenok, you need to eat.” He was right. I felt light-headed and in desperate need of sustenance.

Milo smiled as I took a seat next to him, while Landon watched me with a wary expression on his face.

“Verity’s awake,” Eden told me between mouthfuls of toast.

My chair scraped back as I jumped to my feet. “Where is she? I need to see her.” Was she panicking? She had to be scared.

“Dario’s with her. She had a panic attack when she came to, but he calmed her down. He’s talking to her.”

“Dario?” My brow creased in surprise. That was unexpected. They knew each other, of course, but it had been years since he spent any time with my sister. At least I thought it had.

Eden shrugged. “She seems to trust him.”

“Which way is her room?” I chewed my lip, not sure whether I trusted Dario with my sister. Not after everything he’d done lately.

“Through that door, up the stairs, and it’s the first door on the left.”

Kyril put down the plate he’d pulled from a cupboard and took me by the hand.

“She’s OK,kotenok. I wouldn’t leave him with your sister if I thought he was a threat to her.”

“I know, but I have to go to her.”

“Of course. I’ll take you, but then you must eat something.”

“Or what?”

His eyes flared with heat at the edge of defiance in my tone.

“Or I’ll take you upstairs and spank you so hard you’ll see stars, kitten.” The way his hand snaked around my neck in a possessive way told me he wasn’t joking. That and the hard length pressed against my belly as he pushed me against the counter.

Any comeback I had got lost as I fell into the dark pools of his obsidian eyes. Then a loud gagging sound broke the tension between us and we both looked over at the table to see Eden making vomiting gestures.

“There’ll be none of that while I’m here. This house is officially a sex-free zone.”

Kyril scoffed. “I’m sure Milo has some ear plugs you can borrow.” Eden shook her head.

“Nope, not happening, you obnoxious ass. If I’m not getting any, you’re not either.”

Milo smirked, but Landon stayed quiet. My eyes flicked over to him as he moved some eggs around his plate. Part of me felt bad for pushing him away yesterday, but all of them were in the shit house to varying degrees. He looked up briefly and half-smiled, then looked away.

I frowned. Something was going on with him. Something beyond the upheaval of being here. But I dismissed that thought. Whatever issues he had paled in comparison with mine.

“Move,” I growled at Kyril, who was arguing with Eden about the supposed sex ban.

He stepped back as I pushed past him to go to Verity. Being Kyril, he wasn’t happy about being dismissed, so he quickly grabbed my hand and took the lead.

“Thea!” Verity leaped to her feet and barreled over the moment she saw me. To my surprise, she seemed surprisingly relaxed. I’d expected to find her stressed and miserable, but she looked calm.

Dario sat on a small sofa under the window. The guy looked like he hadn’t slept for a month, but I decided I didn’t give a shit about that. He wasn’t my problem.

“Ver, are you OK?”

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