Page 46 of Break Her Heart
“No one touches her.”
He descended with deliberate steps, each one echoing against the silent, blood-scented air. No one dared move. Vampires froze, caught in the tension that wrapped around the room like smoke. August stopped in front of me, close enough that I could see the slight shimmer of amusement in his eyes—and something darker beneath it.
He leaned in, too close, and whispered, “You never disappoint, my queen.”
I froze.
My stomach twisted, but beneath it throbbed something worse than fury—betrayal. Had any of it been real? The protection, the stares, the way his voice softened when no one else could hear? Or had I always been part of the show?
“But Your Grace, she is a witch!” cried one clinging to Simon’s arm, his face pale with panic.
Simon tilted his head slightly, a faint, curious smile curling his lips. He looked less concerned than entertained, as if he were watching a particularly dramatic opera rather than a threat. I guess he had come to terms with this since I almost killed Lavina.
“Do you think I am so dumb that I didn’t already know that?”
Whispers rippled through the vampires.
“This changes nothing. She is your queen. You will submit to her. If she chooses to leave you alive, then youthankher.” Then he turned his head and locked eyes with me again. “And if I even hear of an ill word said about her, you better hope that she gets to you first. Because my methods will be long, drawn out, and excruciating.”
He felt nothing and yet he said that.
In an instant, the world blurred, and my stomach dropped like I’d been hurled from a cliff. By the time my vision stopped spinning, we were in our chambers and I was in his arms, cradled like something fragile and breakable.
I shoved out of his grip, stumbling back. Fury flared in me.
August smiled but it didn’t touch his eyes. If anything, it looked like it hurt. Like he was smiling just to keep from breaking apart. “Was that your attempt at being my worst nightmare, Winnie?”
“You should be angry!” I screamed.
“Oh I am angry. Angrier than I’ve been in a long time.”
Gods, he was truly insane!
“Then why are you smiling?”
“Because I should have known better. Of course you did the one thing I asked you not to do! You wouldn’t be Winnie if you didn’t!” Then his eyes widened, as if something had just clicked—some horrifying truth or revelation known only to him. And instead of fear or fury, he laughed. A deep, unhinged sound that spilled from his mouth like a wound torn open.
I shoved him with both hands, hard enough that my palms stung. He didn’t stumble. Of course he didn’t. “What is so fucking funny?”
He moved closer. “Well, Winnie, before you did that, you still had freedom. Time away from me. But now? Now you’ll have to be with me at all times. Every second of every day. Even during yourbaths.”
My jaw clenched. “What?”
“You being a witch is going to raise questions. And vampires love gossip. If they find out what you did to Carrow, his supporters will crawl out from under their stones to seek revenge. Just to win favor with him.”
I just stared at him.
“So was it worth it?” He spoke coldly. “To spend forever with the person you betrayed?”
“Why would you want that if you felt nothing?”
His voice dropped. “You said you were going to be my worst nightmare. I’m just returning the favor. And you haven’t even seen what I’m capable of yet.”
He reached out and gently brushed a strand of hair from my face, his touch a mockery of kindness. “And when you scream, when you cry, when you try to claw your way out… I’ll still be there. Because that’s what you chose when you betrayed me.”
14
August
