Page 13 of Revenge of a Queen

But Marcus isn’t fazed, “Oh, you have no idea how good her stamina is, little traitor,” he smirks with a wink and she giggles.

Gag. I don’t know what’s worse, the fact he is doing this, or the fact I am actually fucking jealous of the stupid bitch. Fucking Cherry. Wonder if her blood is as red as I’m imagining. Maybe I’ll make her bleed and find out. I imagine four different ways to gut her insides before I do what I do best and slam it down deep inside me and smile.

“Oh, I’m sure I can imagine,” I say, with as much friendliness as I can muster.

I turn my attention to her for the first time. She is quite pretty. I'll give her that, I mean, of course she is to land a place on Marcus’ arm, but she is ruining it with the caked makeup piled on her face. She's got blonde hair with a yellow tint that only comes from cheap hair dye and is wearing a skin-tight dress like this isn’t fucking October.

“Do you charge by the hour, Cherry? If so, how much for some privacy?” I ask sweetly.

She giggles and it’s the most irritating sound in the world, “I don’t get it,” she says, like being dumb is sexy.

I huff, “No, you really don’t,” I huff with a humorless laugh before concentrating back on Marcus “So, this is how it’s gonna be then?” I ask him.

“I don’t know what you mean,” he says with a smug smile like he knows how much this is getting to me. Curse this prick to the fiery pits of hell and his fucking bimbo too.

“This is how you’re playing things,” I confirm.

“You’d know all about games wouldn’t you, Elle?” He snaps back, losing a bit of his cool and I smile my first genuine smile. Oh, he wants to fucking play.

“Game on, River,” I give him my best game face and push past them both and enter the school.

Lincoln is the first to catch up with me and I don’t even let him speak before I whip round and get in his face, “I want everything on her, Superman, fucking everything. I wanna know where she eats, where she sleeps, where she fucking works, everything.”

He just nods, accepting my crazy, and already tapping away on his tablet. I know I’m being irrational but fuck it I don’t care. How dare he! How dare he fucking disappear after finding out my biggest secret and then have the audacity to rock back up to school like it’s just a regular Monday, with a slut by his side no less. I mean she could be Virgin fucking Mary for all I know but my irrational period brain has taken over and she gives zero fucks.

Marcus Riviera is a fucking asshole. A stupid, sexy, dumb as fuck, fucking asshole!

Well, if this is how he wants to play it then so be it, as long as he keeps what he knows to himself then he can do whatever the fuck he wants. I mean, this is what I always wanted, right? To push him far enough away that he finds happiness with someone who isn’t me. So why don’t I feel happy right now?

Chapter 7

ELLE

Isuffer through the rest of the morning watching her paw at him during all the classes we share, and I swear to all the gods, I deserve a fucking medal for not spilling blood. That doesn’t mean I didn’t conjure up several creative ways I could gut them both and make their bodies disappear. Fuck, I have never felt so stabby! I don’t do this. This stupid high school bullshit of being jealous of a girl who is with the guy I like, is fucked up, so why the fuck can’t I stop?

I think I am doing well until lunchtime arrives and I make my way to the cafeteria and find her perched on his lap at the Rebels’ usual table. I grind my teeth so hard; I don’t know how they haven’t cracked in my mouth. Oh, I really want to make someone hurt right now. Surely if I've got to bleed today it's only fair that someone else should too. Is it rational to kill someone for touching the boy you love, even though he hates you? Would I get away with it with so many witnesses? Can homicide by hormones be my plea?

No, now I am definitely being irrational. I can’t kill her. Yet.

I feel the presence of the two Rebels, who aren’t pissing me off, by my side and suddenly feel a little more ready to sit at the table with him. It’s funny how the two Rebels I didn’t know before coming back here are the ones giving me strength now. It hits me then how much I care about them already. Fuck. I have spent so much time concentrating on keeping Marcus in the dark that I didn’t stop them from sneaking through my defense until I knew I would bleed for them too.

“I have what you asked for,” Linc says, cutting into my thoughts.

“And?” I reply, desperate for him to tell me anything that would make killing her acceptable. Just any fucking dark mark against her and I won’t hesitate.

“Cherry Daniels, seventeen, lives with her Mom in a trailer, barely scraping by in all her classes, works nights at the gas station over on Evergreen, has a younger sister named Daisy.”

“Any red flags,” I plead with hope, but he shakes his head. Fuck, nothing warranting her death apart from the fact her hands haven’t left Marcus’ body all morning. Which, if you ask me, is a valid fucking reason all on it’s own.

“This is bullshit,” Jace cuts in.

“How so?” I wonder out loud, as Marcus glowers at me with a fucking smirk on his arrogant perfect face.

“Come on, princess, use your eyes,” he says, leaning in close to me. “See, how he isn’t touching her?”

“She’s sitting in his fucking lap, Jace,” I snap back angrily, struggling to hold onto my temper.

“Yeah, she is, but look at his hands, they’re nowhere near her. He isn’t burning a stare into her head right now,” he says, as he comes in closer to my side putting his hand on my shoulder.

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