Page 33 of The Time Of Queens

Stompedmy angry feet from the room.

13

BROKEN TRUST

Istormed past him, my whole body shaking from anger, and I flinched when I heard Draven roar,

“SILENCE!”I then looked over my shoulder and realised he must have shouted this at the cook, who was most likely trying to talk her way out of this. Then I ran up the stairs, getting to the main level and pushing past Vincent, who now looked both shocked and concerned.

“Miss Williams! Are you well?!” he asked in response to my hasty retreat.

“No! I am not!” I shouted back, racing up the main staircase in hopes of getting to my room just so I could be alone when I fell to pieces. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking as I reached for the handle of my door. That was when I heard a snap of words coming from below.

“Not now, Vincent!” This of course came from Draven, as he obviously started to chase me through the house. So, I hurried into my room, slammed the door shut, and quickly locked it to shut him out.

I felt the handle rattling only seconds later.

“Miss Williams, open the door,” he demanded sternly, making me flinch again. But I straightened my back and let my anger reply.

“No!” I shouted back, no longer giving a damn about the decorum of this time. I was fucking sick of pretending! Instead, I used my shaky hands to pour the water from the jug at my dresser into a bowl that I used for cleaning myself in the morning. Then I hissed in pain as I dipped my right hand in it, the blood that soaked my skin seeping into the water.

“Open the door right this instant, that is an order!” he shouted, making me grit my teeth and shake my head.

“I SAID NO!” I bellowed back.

However, this only ended with me screaming as suddenly he hammered a fist straight through the wooden panel. His hand reached for the key so he could open the door, which was when I realised he had no choice… Or I would have only questioned how he had opened the door after witnessing him using his powers to do so. Which meant taking things into his own hands… quite literally.

Something that also included me.

I cried out when I found myself being turned around before solid muscle was put to my belly, and I was easily hoisted up over his shoulder.

“PUT ME DOWN!” I screamed and kicked my legs wildly, as, well, this wasn’t exactly a new experience for me, even in the past. No, Draven had discovered early on that this was an efficient way in getting me to where he wanted me to be. He simply responded to my efforts in escaping by banding an arm across my legs, then pinning them to his chest as he stormed back towards his own room.

It was only after he kicked his door closed that he bent forward and deposited me on the bed. Doing so carefully enough that he didn’t just toss me on it like he might have done back inmy own time. As for me, I remained frozen in place, as the quiet, calm way in which he did this was unnerving. As if he had forced himself to do this with as little anger as possible so as not to scare me.

“Now that we are alone, will you calmly explain to me what the hell happened?” he asked after taking a deep breath.

“And we had to do this in your room, why exactly?” I asked in return, each of my words coated in a good deal of anger and frustration.

“Because no one will dare approach my bedchamber, and here we will be unheard.”

I frowned so hard I felt like my eyebrows would snap off like I was some Mrs Potato Head toy!

“And punching your way into my room and throwing me over your shoulder was the best way to do that, was it?!” I snapped, making his lips twitch as if he was fighting a grin, something that only angered me further. But then he noticed my red face, one I could now feel the sting of.

He stepped closer and raised my face up, before running the back of his fingers down my heated cheek.

“She struck you?”

“Yes, and it is the very last time she will ever strike another,” I said firmly.

“Yes, as after the beating she received, I believe you are right, for she will undoubtably be in two minds to do such again,” he said, making me question what he truly felt.

“You think I was wrong to inflict such?!” I asked, unable to help my accusing tone.

“On the contrary, her reprimand is far from complete,” he replied softly and because of it, all my anger left me on a sigh.

“Good, as she deserves far worse for what she put those poor girls through,” I told him, and he was quick to agree.

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