Page 18 of Reign

I took a deep breath, wishing she’d been as sensible as I’d hoped. “Nevermind. So Sophia…”

“Sophie.”

“So,Sophieis your real name?”

“Yes.”

“And your last name?”

“It’s not Archer.”

I couldn’t help but raise my brows at her avoidance. Still, perhaps I shouldn’t push. “Okay. But you are now Sophie Archer and you look completely different from the way you looked in your angel form, and I presume when you worked for Rex?” She nodded. “Then he won’t know who you are even if you come face to face with him.”

She huffed. “You have no fucking idea what he’s capable of.” She peered down at her espresso, her fingers pulling at her sleeve.

I put my hand on hers, trying to set her at ease. “Believe me, Sophia, I do.”

"It's Sophie," she snapped as I knew she would. I smirked, and she rolled her eyes. "You can't distract me that easily. Unless you've lived and worked with him, you can't possibly know what he's like. He's got a godsdamned army in that house. And they all know me. If you lose this fight, I'm not hanging around. I can't let him catch me. He'll never let me out of his sight again."

I held her gaze, keeping my voice even and my face serious. She needed to know she could trust me. She hadn’t told me exactly what she had been forced to do for Rex. Whatever it was, she was scared of him, and she wasn’t the type to be scared of anyone, me included, but long term scars ran deep—I should know. “I do know. Better than you think.”

“Hm, we’ll see.” She took a sip of her coffee, as did I. “You know, that text can’t mean anything good. He’s probably playing you already.”

I shrugged one shoulder, already suspicious. "Maybe, but what it does mean is that someone who works for him knows we're here, probably from the hotel staff, and one of two things is about to happen; either Rex will attack us, or that person is truly willing to betray him. If that's the case, they also know who I am and probably why I'm here, and they are still willing to help me."

“Porca!” she muttered under her breath. “You mean you want to sit here and wait to be attacked—or not.”

I grinned. “Sì, è giusto. Aspettiamo, e poi sappiamo."

“We wait, and then we know? Are you kidding me? And when did you learn to speak Italian?”

"No, I'm not kidding you. Now relax. And I was an agent for the SBI, we had to speak other languages, but I don't speak Neapolitan. Don't worry; that fae armour you're wearing will protect you, as will Stone's and B'nar's magic. How about you distract yourself and tell me why you are so scared of Rex Manivera?"

Her gaze followed the waitress as she walked by our table. However, the waitress was more interested in making doe eyes at Stone and B'nar than watching us.

I laughed. "Believe me; the waitress has far more interesting things to look at than you. And these people only work for Manivera because he threatens them. They hold no loyalty to him. They need a new master to serve, and who knows? Maybe they'll have one soon."

“What? You?”

I shrugged and leaned forward. “I could easily take this town from him. But the only thing I’m interested in is getting my mate back. Right now, I’m stopping myself from ripping into that house in the hills and getting her out. I’m giving this person…” I flicked the note. “...the benefit of the doubt because I’d rather not get my pack, or you killed, if I can rescue Ember without loss of life. So, while we wait, tell me why you hate him so much.”

She sighed, and perhaps unconsciously, placed her palm over Drake’s image on her upper arm, hugging it to her chest. “When I was a little girl, Rex put me to work for him. He taught me how to observe people, how to learn the weaknesses of others, how to manipulate, how to kill. You know? All the things a little girl wants to know. And I wanted him to be proud of me, so I did everything he asked to the best of my ability—always.” She looked out of the window, her black lacquered nails digging into the soft skin of her upper arms. “Once he thought I was sufficiently talented at those skills, he put me to work learning about his business interests. I was basically an assassin. But all others saw was an innocent girl that went on business trips with her daddy, someone the authorities would never suspect.”

My heart lurched as I gripped the edge of the table. “You’re his daughter?” My question was remarkably calm considering that bombshell.

A bitter laugh escaped her, but her eyes were dark and full of pain. “Yeah, and he destroyed me and my life. I never had a childhood because of him, and I have done things that I can never atone for or take back.” She tapped her chest, right over her heart. “This is empty because of him. I will never allow myself to love or to be loved because of all the lives I’ve destroyed for him. I don’t deserve it.”

I swallowed the ache in my throat, but it wasn't enough; it closed up on me anyway. And I couldn't pull my gaze from her face.Her eyes…That's why she looked so familiar. Her eyes were my eyes...ourfather'seyes.

“Are you okay? You’ve gone a bit pale.”

Prime whined, sensing my shock. I shook myself and forced my attention over to Owen. His brows dipped. He knew me well and sensed something had happened to rattle me. And holy shit, Iwascompletely rattled. A sister! I had a sister, and she had no idea who I was to her.

“Connor? Are you okay?” Her mouth tightened into a thin line. “I know, I’m disgusting...all the things I’ve done.”

“No.” I coughed to clear my throat. “Sophie, that’s not what’s wrong, not at all.”

Her chuckle was full of disbelief. “Yeah, right. That’s why you look like you’re going to throw up.”

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