Page 94 of The Depraved Prince
“That’s why he looks at me like that? With hatred?” I taunt for an answer. “He wanted you to kidnap me, didn’t he? To beat King Davenport at his own game?”
He shakes his head twice; his face is full of sorrow. He plays with his ring, twisting it around his finger over and over again.
“Let me go home. I’m done…Hayden.I’m done. I want normal. You are not my haven, and I am not yours. I need to get away from all of this derangement and brutality…I need to get away fromthe Depraved Prince!” I shoot back with toxins fueling every vowel.
“No! I can’t fucking do that!”
Finally, he snaps and balls his fist like he’s about to melt down and grab me. He stalks forward, each step loud and indignant. He reaches for my face, his fingertips barely able to graze my hot, fuming flesh. He cups my face, harshly forcing his lips on mine. He kisses me as he presses his body against mine by gripping my waist tight, bruising me surely. But I’m too angry…too broken to feel anything else.
I contort my face and pull away by pushing against his chest as hard as I can, but of course, he doesn’t move an inch. Instead,he allows me to break the kiss, and he shatters even more when I don’t return it or match his movements.
“You must let me go! I don’t want you!” I scream until my throat bleeds with pain.
“I love you! I can’t!” he yells back at me, this time accompanied by that same horrifying vampire snarl that they all do when they’re angry or hunting. It’s so distinct I shiver every time I hear it.
“Ahh!” I shout, frustrated. I’ve had enough. I’m boiling over and impatient. I try to grasp anything that will get me out of this situation and away from him. I grab the scissors again and hold them to my throat so he understands the level of depth I’m willing to go to to escape him. Hayden stares and goes rigid. His eyes widen with excruciating misery.
“If you don’t let me go home, I will end my life right here and right now! I’d rather die than be with you!”
“Jesus fucking Christ, Millie! Drop it now, goddammit! I can’t lose you!” He pleads and tries to grab the scissors, but before he can, I press it into my skin until I feel a sharp pinch, signaling I’ve cut through my flesh.
“Don’t, baby, please don’t! Don’t hurt yourself!” he continues to plead. His shoulders relax when I pull back the sharp blade.
“Then let me go, or I’ll finish the job for you and your father!”
He immediately steps away from me and creates space so I can walk towards the door. Black tears flood his broken blue eyes I’ve come to admire…and, finally,despise.
“I’m going to spend whatever time I have left, and I will do it without you. At...”
Home?
I want to say home, but it doesn’t feel like it. Hayden started to feel like my home—this Cathedral. I…fell in love with him. I tried to make him feel good and give into his selfishness along with mine. But I got lost in his lies.
“Where? Tell me where?” he begs.
I don’t speak. I look away from him and start walking toward the door. I can ask Kallum to put me on a plane.
“My mother’s place. Or maybe my brother. They’re the only ones I have left.”
“She doesn’t want you. Your brother left you! They don’t love you. But I fucking do. I love you with all that I am. I love you all the time, from the moment I wake up until the second I fall asleep. And even in my dreams, I love you. No one cares about you the way I do. I’d sacrifice my entire world just tolookat you.”
For a moment there, I want to break and give in, forget that he’s kept things from me, and forget that he was the one who killed my dad.
No. He’s lying.He just wants his powers. He’s the one that’s sick.
“You made me think this entire time my father was alive! You deceived and betrayed me.” Hot tears continue to leak, and I sniffle as I rub my nose.
I continue to make my way out of his room, but he keeps calling out for me. He hates that I’m giving him silence.
“Millie,” he warns.
I grab the doorknob and turn it.
“Millie!” He shouts with a pained voice. “At least tell me where, baby. Please. Don’t go. I…I can fix this. Give me time. I have all the time in the world, remember? Please. Don’t leave me. Don’t fucking leave me! You’re not safe without me! My enemies will find you. I need to protect you. You’re all that matters to me! You’re all I want! The cruel demons that I endure are only worth it if I have you here to kiss them away. The duties I have to execute…” he stammers before continuing. “Tell me you’ll see me next moon?”
I grab my hand, and my face twists into wrath.
“You are the cruel demon in my life.”
