Page 69 of Depraved Royals

But there’s no life I want now that doesn’t have Kal in it. He’s the future I want. I understand now that he faced death just so he could give me the closure I needed. He left because Itoldhimto go.

He respects me enough not to fight me, not to make my father kill him in front of me.

And he loves me enough to leave.

The damage here is done. My father will never come to terms with what happened, so I’ll never be free again.

I open my bedroom window and look outside.

Brutus no longer guards the gate. With Kal gone and Simeon dead, there are no more Antonovs to fear. Idina can’t hurt us on her own.

Instead, he’s guiding my sister to the limo.

“Mel!” I cry. “Don’t go. Get Papa to let me out of here!”

“I tried,” she says, throwing her arms in the air. “He won’t listen to anyone. I can’t cope anymore. I’m going home.”

I watch the limo pull out of the gates, creeping past the mangled remains of the Alfa, and I feel utterly alone.

I head to my dresser and pick up my old jewelry box. I wonder if…

Yes. Right there, in the secret drawer, a roll of twenty-dollar bills. Mel went through a phase of stealing from me when we were younger; this was my best hiding place.

I look outside the house, wondering if I have the guts to try something…

To the right of my window is a downspout. It’s painted cream to match the plaster, but I can see it clearly.

I climb onto the window-ledge and swing my legs to the outside, tapping my heels on the wall. I perch there for a moment, steeling myself.

I can do it.

I shift along the ledge until I can reach the downspout. The gap behind it is wide enough to get a hand behind it. I reach my right foot out until I can tuck my toe onto a bracket that holds the pipe to the wall.

Come on. One big push is all it’ll take.

I push off the ledge. I start to slip, but momentum keeps me going, and I wrap my body around the downspout, locking my feet behind it.

With a few slips and stifled shrieks, I slide from bracket to bracket until I reach the ground. I collapse onto my knees, waiting for my breathing to stabilize before getting to my feet.

That’s it. I’m outta here.

* * *

I walk for a while until I start to see cars. As I try to flag down a cab, I wonder where I’m gonna go.

How will I find Kal? I don’t know where to start, and I can’t do anything now. Dawn is breaking, it’s bitterly cold, and all I have is a few dollars and the clothes on my back.

This is dumb. My father will pick me up in no time, and what then?

I decide to hide out somewhere until I can figure it out. Maybe I can reach Vera somehow. She’s a bitch, but what does she have left now? She might know where Kal would hide out. I’ll even go to Idina if I have to.

A cab slows down beside me and pulls to a stop. I jump in the back.

“Where you headed?” the driver asks.

“I need a motel that’s as far from here as you’ll take me for…” I count my money quickly, “…say, thirty dollars?”

“No problem. I know a place.”

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