Page 138 of Vicious Princess
Yet, when that day is finally here…they can’t witness it.
I close my eyes for a brief moment.I wish you could see me. All this is for you.
It’s funny. I thought I killed that part of me, the part that still held the beliefs my parents instilled in me, the part that wants to be honorable, good, respectful?—
Someone’s behind me.
My eyes snap open right as I reach for a blade strapped to my corset and pivot, angling it at my attacker’s side.
Daegel’s eyes flash.
“You should have announced yourself,” I hiss at him, pulling the blade away. “I could have fucking stabbed you!”
He ignores my words, saying, “Damn good reflexes, princess. I see all that private training is paying off.”
With a scoff, I roll my eyes. I turn to again face the back entrance that’s been calm all these hours. Nobody goes in or out.
Daegel settles next to me on one knee.
Without looking at him, I ask, “What are you doing here? No way Ezkai Gavriel assigned you to me.”
“He had no other choice,” Daegel says. I can hear the pride in his voice. “I outrank him as an Ezkai Major.”
“You pulled rank?” I arch an eyebrow as I turn to him. “Abusing your power for nothing, sir? Scandalous.”
His gaze darkness. “I love it when you call me ‘sir.’ Make sure you do it more often.” Daegel leans in closer. “Especially when I’m balls deep in your sweet, tight, warm pussy.”
I blink rapidly, my whole body aflame.
He pulls away with a chuckle. In his official instructor voice, he says, “Change of plans, Cadet Wildarrow.”
“What?”
Daegel meets my gaze. All the teasing, flirty amusement is gone now. “There are things only I know about, which I couldn’t reveal during the strategy brainstorm.”
My stomach sinks.Oh no.
“That’s why I requested to accompany you here. You’re the only one who can know the truth.”
I nod. I’m pleased he’sfinallytrusting me with this and bringing me along instead of trying to conceal things in order to “protect” me.
“What is it? Tell me,” I say.
“Gloria isn’t the only one running this place.” My eyebrows hike all the way to my hairline at his words. “She’s the head of the Esclar family, but she has two brothers who are also in the family business and run this place with her.”
“The three shadowy figures on that platform,” I say, things clicking into place.
Daegel nods.
I bristle. “Why didn’t you say anything before?”
“I’m telling you now, Phoenix,” he says, pleading. “I couldn’t say it in front of Gloria, or in front of other Ezkai, and we were preoccupied with either fighting or”—my cheeks heat without him even saying it—“making up, so there wasn’t much time to dive deep into the details of it all. I don’t want to fight about it now, when we’re short on time as it is.”
“Okay. Fine.”
“Thank you.”
“We need to take out the brothers, too,” I say. “Otherwise, they’ll simply take over and keep doing whatever they’re doing.”
