Page 77 of Break Her Heart
“It’s beginning to get a little boring around here, don’t you think?”
There was something desperate in his tone—like if he didn’t do something reckless soon, he might shatter. It unnerved me how often I felt the same.
“Fine. But you will keep your mouth shut and let me handle it.”
“As you wish, my queen.” He bowed, but the glint in his eyes was pure mischief.
Then, he extended his hand out in front of me, palm up, fingers wiggling like he expected me to take it without question.
I narrowed my gaze. “Really? You’ve been pouting about me pulling magic this entire time and yet you’re so willing to do it now?”
“I have not beenpouting,” he muttered.
“Yes, you have.”
“There is a difference between me giving it to you and you taking it.”
My breath hitched the moment I looked up at him. He was staring at me like he was trying to memorize my face, like he didn’t know if he wanted to kiss me or kill someone just to make me stay.
My own heart stuttered in answer.
He was slipping. And the worst part was—I didn’t want to stop him either.
24
August
We walked along the wooden deck that lined the shore of the Sea of Mavrola. The salt-tinged breeze tangled through Winnie’s hair, and though the afternoon sun bathed us in gold, unease clung to her like a second skin. She kept glancing at the water like it held ghosts only she could see.
But when she stopped in front of a small apothecary, her spine straightened and her chin lifted. She flipped her hair over one shoulder like armor, masking whatever war she was fighting inside. The moment we stepped inside, the bell above the door gave a startled chime and the woman behind the counter—a middle-aged woman with streaks of gray threading through her dark hair—locked eyes with Winnie and dropped the small glass bottle in her hand.
“Oh, there is no need to worry over me,” Winnie said, her voice light but cold. “I just have a question and then you’ll hopefully never see me again.”
The woman’s gaze flicked to me and she paled before dipping into a deep bow. “Y-Your Grace. It is an honor. I can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done for us.”
Winnie didn’t pause. She waved a dismissive hand as she stepped farther into the shop, her eyes scanning the shelves. “We don’t have time for the formalities. I just need the location of someone—Alden Gran.”
The woman’s posture stiffened. “Why are you looking for him?”
Winnie picked up a bar of soap and sniffed it, as if we had all the time in the world. “Old friends.”
“You didn’t seem like friends the last time you were here.”
“Excuse me?” Winnie’s tone sharpened.
“Father may not have seen you terrorizing those poor boys, but I did.”
I took a half-step forward, instinct clawing its way through my throat, but Winnie had warned me. Stay back. Let her handle it.
So I did. Barely. My hands curled into fists at my sides. I leaned against the frame of the doorway like I didn’t care, but every muscle in my body was tensed, ready to act the second she needed me.
Winnie’s eyes glittered with something dangerous. “Which one was Alden?”
“Oh, so you didn’t even know who they were? You justtakefrom whoever you please?”
“Which one?” Her voice cracked like a whip.
“I do not answer to you. You are not Mother.”
