Page 5 of Hellfire

I moved slowly and folded my palms over her cold hands. “Good to see you, Mary. You look well.”

She jerked at my touch, pushing one shoulder back, the other forward, as if bracing for impact. Oh, God, what did they do to her?

“Princess.” She dropped to her knees, bent her head as if praying, and clutched my ankles. “Forgive me for looking at you.”

Patrons in the bar stared at the spectacle, whispering to their companions.

Gable bent down to pry her off me.

When I first met him, he told me I was royalty, and he could get his eyes cut out for looking at me. I’d never forget the way he purred his goodbye at me.“You’re worth losing my eyes for.”

Nobody was losing their eyes for me, least of all these siblings.

Gable extracted me from Mary’s grasp, and I knelt beside her and wrapped my fingers around her arm, lifting her to her feet. She came easily, weighing barely anything, her frame in desperate need of weight.

“Mary, you can look at me without reprimand.” I squeezed her hand to show her my benevolence. “I’m not my grandfather and won’t harm you. There’s no rules between us.”

Mary’s eyes flicked to me and back down. “Yes, Princess.”

That title was reserved for my men ONLY.

“Call me Luna.” I gave her hands a second pump. “Only Gable calls me Princess, and that’s for fun, not formality.”

Mary gave an uneasy smile. “Yes, Princess… I mean, Luna.”

Gable winked at me, and the ice in my heart from her hardship melted.

“Come and have a drink and some food.” I escorted her to the table with my men, and they vacated their seats, making room for the newcomers.

Mary flinched at them carrying two more seats to the table. Her eyes and body hardened at Cole’s proximity. She had reason to be wary of him when his magical blow killed her brother.

She tucked her head and retreated several paces. “I’m not worthy to sit here with you.”

I felt a pang of guilt that my relative was responsible for torturing her.

I dragged her to a seat and sat beside her, Gable taking the seat on her opposite side. “You are absolutely worthy. Your brother sits with me all the time. It’s no big deal.”

Gable mouthed the words, “Thanks, love.”

I pushed the plate in her direction, grabbed a tapas flatbread, dipped it in hummus spread to show her how it worked, and ate it. “It’s good. Try some.”

Gable did the same, smiling as he chewed, encouraging her to meekly reach out, snatch some bread and shove it in her mouth like a starved child.

“Try the dip.” I repeated my earlier motion, and she mimicked me, not because she was curious, but because I suggested it. I made a little “mmm” sound and she did the same. “What do you like to drink?”

“Water from the pig’s trough will do.” She said it so casually that it was obviously an everyday occurrence for her.

Horrified at her reality, I coughed. Was she punished for Gable leaving? Was he subjected to this treatment too? My heart cried out for the misfortune my grandfather’s subjects endured.I glanced at my lover, and he pressed his lips together and shook his head, telling me not to go there.

“I’m Talon.” My man stretched out his hand to introduce himself and break up the awkward tension blanketing the group. “I’ll get you some water.”

“Thank you, sir.” She nodded but didn’t meet his eye.

His formidable size alone at six-feet-six struck fear into the hearts of students. Hard features and an intimidating stare commanded authority and dread in equal measure. I appreciated his kindness when he only showed this side of himself to his closest circle. His sweet gesture gave space for Gable to comfort his sister in this strange and new situation.

Cole sipped at his beer, staring at her, uneasy at her presence, his conscience weighted down with guilt for accidentally taking out her brother. He hadn’t stopped replaying the misfortune over to me, blaming himself for following his first instinct was to protect me. I tried without luck to assure him it was an unfortunate accident.

We didn’t have more time to apologize or debrief with Gable or Mary over the accident when we left in a hurry to get back to the Academy, where the siblings were arrested and thrown into holding cells and questioned for twenty-four hours.

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