Page 10 of Break Her Heart
Had I really grown so used to August’s madness? The realization tightened something in my chest. Maybe I was blind to what he was. Or worse—what I’d let myself accept.
Still, I couldn’t help but stare at him. The man who laughed while in chains. The man who, even now, seemed untouchable.
“Or is this your way of telling me a regular fuck just doesn’t do it for you anymore?” August sneered, his eyes locking onto mine with a hunger that made my stomach twist. “Chains I can get on board with, but your brother watching? That might take some getting used to.”
“Enough!” Adar pushed himself off of the wall and barreled toward August. Before I could stop him, he held the dagger against his throat, pushing hard enough that blood tainted the silver blade.
“We are here for the truth,” Adar spat. “If you can’t give me that, I’ll take great pride in killing you.”
The look in August’s eyes shifted, fury coiling behind them. His muscles strained against the spelled chains, the sound ofmetal creaking as if it might give way. He leaned forward, pushing the dagger in more.
“Let me go and I’ll show you exactly what the truth looks like,” August snarled. “Or are you too much of a coward to face me without hiding behind your little spells and daggers?”
“Stop,” I said quickly, stepping between them before Adar could drive the blade any deeper. “How is this going to work?”
Adar’s eyes flicked to me, his jaw clenched so tightly I thought his teeth might crack. “He won’t be able to lie or stay silent. The truth will come out whether he wants it to or not.”
“But he’s a vampire. It could be different. It could be—” I stumbled over the words, the urgency making my voice crack.
“It will work,” Adar snapped. “It has to.”
August smirked, the darkness in his eyes glittering with amusement. “Why don’t you find out?” he challenged. “Ask your questions, Winnie. Let’s see if your precious truth serum holds up.”
I took a breath, trying to calm myself. This had to work.
“What’s your name?”Why did I choose that?
His lips curved into a smirk.
“Augustus Andra Vael.” August’s voice was steady, his gaze unwavering. “Prince—well, no,the Joveryn Kingnow, thanks to you. I mean, if you wanted title, too.”
Chills ran down my spine. August. The Joveryn King.
“Did I kill your father?” I pressed, forcing myself to remain calm.
“You destroyed his body, but he’s been gone for much longer than that.”
I scrunched my eyebrows.What does that even mean?
“Did I kill Carrow?”
“I guess for a little while you killed him, but he will be back.”
This wasn’t working. He was the same infuriating August that loved to confuse me.
“Is your father Carrow?”
“No.”
I threw my hands up and walked away, pacing to keep myself from screaming. “Nothing you say makes sense. Make sense, August! Please!” I said, the desperation bleeding through.
Something came across his face. Like the August I had grown so used to, but it left just as fast as it came. “Carrow came to Joveryn in his fae body, but he couldn’t reverse the age his body had endured, so he needed a host body to inhabit. He went to the Joveryn King spewing his charismatic, magical charm—tales of strength, speed, and immortality. He left out the part where the king’s body would be immortal but his soul would be lost when the spell was completed. And Carrow took over his body.”
I watched him closely, trying to read the truth in his expression. His shoulders slumped against the chains, but his words were deliberate, precise.
“But I destroyed his body.”
August shook his head. “Carrow is smart. He knew there were always loopholes, just like how he lost immortality the first time. So he found a way to jump to new bodies. His newfound immortality was tied to the original king’s bloodline so he couldn’t jump into other bodies—only his descendants. He just didn’t know his weakness until he lit a match too close to his body and it set him aflame.”
