Page 41 of Wicked Crown

ChapterNine

Vori couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move, couldn’t see beyond the spots dotting her vision darker than the goblin night when she’d left Kradnovtl.

Her mother hadn’t come for her, hadn’t sent for her because she couldn’t.Because she’d been trapped with the mad king.Because Vori had run away.

Her mom was gone.

Dead.

The word clanged in her head like a bell ringing off its hook.She struggled against the pressure building inside her that’d be too heavy for either this form or her goblin one to bear.

Her heart bumped.

No.

She wished she could unhear it.

No.

She preferred the not knowing to this emptiness.

Perry reached for her, curling his fingers around hers.His touch pressed hot against the iciness that spread over her.“Don’t push me away.”His request came out like a command that pulled at her, sheltering her as her world crumbled.“When my powers burn through me, you take the edge off.Let me do the same for you.”

Did she deserve to have this pain numbed?“She’s gone.”Her raw whisper escaped past dry lips.“I did this.”Guilt washed over her, seeping into the cracks left behind by lost hopes dashed against the words of a magical book.She clutched it to her chest as though it could bandage the heartbreak it’d caused.

“Your mother loved you.”Perry wove comfort into his harsh voice.“She chose to save you.”

“I should’ve dragged her through with me.”

“She wouldn’t have let you.”He took one of her hands in his.Maybe to piss off his father.Or because he was worried she would flip out and go goblin on them.But his skin was warm against hers and his powers teased her palm.She pulled at the magic, spinning it into herself like a rope anchored in the present that might keep her from sinking into the horrible truth of her past.

“What can I do?”His father’s voice wasn’t as deep, as persuasive.Mitch—that was the man’s name, right?The fog rolling through her brain dulled her senses.She should fight it, but she couldn’t find the energy.

Perry stroked his thumb over her wrist.“We could use books on Kradnovtl’s most recent history, current events, anything you have.”

“Tell me you’re not her consort,” Mitch said.“Because the original goblin queen’s consort was a male witch with active powers.”

“Another male witch had powers?Like me?”Confusion sounded foreign on Perry’s lips.She should say something, but grief thickened her tongue.

“Why else would a supermodel, aprincesspick you?”His father’s toxic tone pricked her haze like a poisonous jab with each word.“She’ll use you to recreate the legend of her realm’s first monarch, and then what?She’ll leave you.”

“I won’t leave you,” Vori promised.Not the way she’d left her mother behind.

Perry curved his lips into a soft smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

Mitch ignored her.“You’re my son.How could you go to another realm without saying good-bye?”

“Well,Dad.”The word came out sour-sharp.“I don’t remember you saying anything before you took off.We’ll let you know when we’ve stopped the killer.Until then, stay safe.”

But his father wasn’t finished.“You heard what I said about herworld, herfamily.”

What had been her family.What no longer was.

Their argument faded around her, becoming background that blurred and bled into nothingness.

“Let’s go.”From the way Perry stared at her, he might’ve said it a few times.

She let him pull her away from the place she had learned her mother was dead, holding on to him and the magical book pressed against her.He threaded his fingers through hers.She didn’t object when he opened the door to the guard-driven SUV and helped her inside the back.Or when he slid next to her.Or when he took her hand again.

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