Page 183 of Hexed
She snaps out of her daze and meets my eyes. “Doesn’t matter. I love him, and he’s mine. Fate always works out. You of all people should know that. What is it you say? The universe always provides?”
“I also say karma’s a bitch.”
My eyes flick to Fisher, expecting him to have some type of reaction to the delusional things Aria’s saying, but he doesn’t seem surprised by her statements, and I have to wonder why.
Why doesn’t it bother him to see her so out of sorts? Why isn’t it bothering him to hear her speak about Enzo like they’re soul mates? Why doesn’t he care at all that I’m here, chained to a table and bleeding, most likely about to die. Is he that far gone?
I should have paid closer attention to how much he was fixating on her when she came back to town, but I got distracted. Messy. Let my shit take precedence over his. I guess Uncle T was right: I am sloppy.
My mind races, trying to think of a way out of this. I can’t use my body. I can’t do anything except lie here at their mercy, so I have to use the only other weapon I have available.
My voice.
And Aria’s always been a girl who can’t resist a good manipulation tactic. With her, it’s all about the angle.
“Look at you, being the picture-perfect Kingston daughter. Who would have thought after all these years of trying to get away, you would end up right back where you started?”
Her eyes flare, and she points the edge of the knife at me. “I am not.”
I raise my brows. “Could have fooled me.”
Aria crosses her arms, tapping the blade against the inner part of her elbow. “What do you mean?”
“Well, I imagine he’s promised you things.”
She lifts her chin. “So?”
“Here’s the thing, Aria. You may know him as your father, the doting, overprotective, wealthy man who will stop at nothing to make sure his baby girl is safe. But me? I know him as the King of the Sea. Ruthless, self-centered, willing to lie to get his way. And I’ll admit that despite all those things, I know he loves you more than almost anything in the world.”
She huffs. “What do you mean, ‘almost’?”
“Well, I can’t be sure.” I look away from her. “Never mind, it’s ridiculous. You’re probably right that he’s just around the corner waiting to say how proud he is of you for all this.”
Her jaw clenches. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I give her a pitying look. “I do. I know it better than anyone, unfortunately. And webothknow there’s one thing he loves more than any of us.”
She lifts her chin. “And what’s that?”
“Power, of course.”
She drops the knife. “Well, you’re wrong. And he’s not here.”
I laugh, and the chains rattle. “You think I don’t know that? Do you know how many people I’ve chained to this exact table and done exactly what you’re about to do, just so he’d look at me with pride when I went back home and told him?”
She scoffs. “Stop trying to compare us.”
“Oh, but we’re so very comparable, sweet Cousin. You see, Trent Kingston didn’t get to where he is by being a dummy. He knows every single move you’re gonna make before you make it, because when you’re working with him, it’s all an illusion. It’s him pulling strings and making you think you’re getting your way. It’s his specialty.”
She turns away from me, but I know she’s listening. My words are a hook thrown out to sea. I just have to reel her in slowly.
“He doesn’t treat me the same way he treated you,” she proclaims. “Helovesme.”
“Now that we already agreed on. But the boss is clearly on a roll, bringing you in to do the dirty work he used to have me for. Replacing me with someone he knows he can kick when she’s down and she’ll just roll over and ask to be kicked again.” I click my tongue and sigh. “Before you know it, you’ll be just…like…me.”
“I will never be like you.” She spins around, her eyes blazing. “Daddy promised I’d get to leave after this, go back home with E.”
My brow lifts. “And you believe him?”
