Page 16 of Reign of Wicked Temptation

Emma dabbed it with the rag and smiled. “Better?”

Ruby nodded with hesitation. What did they mean to do to her? Befriend her and relay her secrets back to Francis? Poison her?

The memory flashed in her mind. Poison. The crippling pain. The blood. Her hands smoothed over her abdomen and tears filled her eyes. Her child. Their child. A sob erupted from the depths of her soul. Her spirit crushed, the tears flowed freely.

Any thought of fighting disappeared like smoke on the wind. She surrendered to the overwhelming grief.

Emma and Eva worked silently to peel back the blankets. With clean, warm cloths and tender hands, they bathed her.

Through her blurred vision, she watched them wash the blood from on and between her thighs. She turned her head away in shame and sorrow. How could Francis have done this? He killed her child. He nearly killed her.

They cared for her as though she were a newborn foal and lay fresh linens beneath her to soak up any remaining blood.

Eva pursed her lips as she worked shooting irritated glances at her sister who hummed as she worked.

Ruby could not even bring herself to be ashamed at her state of undress or the unrelenting tears. The heartbreak became a constant thrumming in her chest pulsing with a life of its own. She focused on it as she stared at the canopy over the bed.

“Come now, pet. You must eat.” Emma resumed her position beside the bed with a bowl in her gnarled hands.

“I have no appetite.” Ruby turned away.

“No reason to force her,” Eva snapped from the other side of the room. “Stubborn beast.”

Ruby glared at her and gestured for the bowl. Emma offered it willingly. After a few gulps warmed her belly, Ruby pushed it aside and settled back against the bed.

Warmth and vigor from the simple meal infused her with strength. Her hands still trembled, and her legs remained useless, but if she wished to see vengeance, she needed to recover all of her strength.

Eva gathered an armful of blood-soaked linens and opened the door. The moment Emma was alone with her, Ruby seized her opportunity.

“Is there another here? A prisoner?” Ruby asked hopeful her distaste for the woman’s misplaced loyalty was sufficiently concealed.

Emma spun around, her eyes wide. “I cannot say.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “He would be most displeased.”

“Please,” Ruby begged. “Tell me.”

Emma closed her eyes and nodded.

Henry. “Is he alive?” Hope blossomed in the darkness of her soul. “I must know.”

Eva reappeared. “What is this?”

“Please.” Ruby’s pleas rose in pitch. “Is he alive?” Tears filled her eyes again.

The stalwart sister pushed Emma aside. Her dark gaze drew Ruby in like a bottomless void, vacant of all sympathy.

“There is no knight here to save you. No one will save you. You are his.” She grinned, a toothless smile full of disdain and glee. “You belong to the true king. Nothing can change that.”

Eva grabbed her sister by the arm and pulled her from the room. The door slammed behind them. Ruby flinched as the lock slid into place.

The tiny blossom of hope wilted and died. Would this torment ever end? Hope faded into nothingness. Ruby followed suit, surrendering to the exhaustion, for only the nightmares offered her comfort.

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