Page 108 of Cruel Devotion

Especially one as high-ranking as Mountain Mistress?

By the afternoon, I finally drifted into a sleep.

In my dreams, I found myself racing under towering clouds and battling blue dragons that soared and swooped with majestic grace.

A crown topped my head, and I gripped a large blue sword.

I was awakened in the late evening by one of my men.

He gently shook my shoulder.

I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and sat up to find a grand dinner laid out before me.

Several dishes decorated the table next to the bed—platters of seafood, bowls of aromatic soups with herbs floating on top, and dishes of perfectly cooked meats garnished with vibrant, fresh vegetables.

I breathed in the intoxicating aromas, left the bed, and grabbed my robe. “Is Lei here?”

The man shook his head and left the tent.

O-kay.

I went up to the table and lowered into the chair.

This is bullshit.

The lavish dinner before me was superficial in the wake of this craziness—Lei's obsession with Chanel, his absence, his world that was so brutally alien to me.

If he's going to be gone the whole time then I don't need to be here.

I picked at the food.

And where the fuck is my phone? I'm going to have to get one of my men to give me theirs.

The more I thought about it, the clearer my decision became.

I needed to leave this mountain and head back home.

I'm out of here.

Yet. . .to my shock, at the very idea, a part of me ached.

Hey. . .you've been in this surreal reality for days. Your mind is spinning. All will go back to normal tomorrow.

Then, I noticed a sealed envelope resting beside my plate.

What?

My name was on it.

Curious, I opened the envelope, slid out the letter, unfolded the thick paper, and read it.

Monique,

I'm sorry that I haven't been there but that changes tomorrow.

Arrangements have been made for a helicopter to pick you up in the morning.

Until then, if you need anything, ask your men.

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