Total pages in book: 193
Estimated words: 184001 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 920(@200wpm)___ 736(@250wpm)___ 613(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 184001 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 920(@200wpm)___ 736(@250wpm)___ 613(@300wpm)
“You really think I can make my uncle do anything?”
“I think you have a better shot at that than being deceitful, princess. I don’t know how I didn’t see it before, but it’s not in your nature. You’re much too open and honest. Sometimes to a fault.”
“Should I be insulted or…”
“Do you feel insulted, princesa?”
“What I feel is torn.I don’t know if I like it when you call me princess or princesa more.” Before I can figure out a response to that, she glances over at Khalil, who crooks a finger at her with a rigid look in his eyes that says he won’t be taking it easy on her this session. Neither will Thorin later, but for different reasons. Last night, the two of them got into it again over opposing ideas about how to deal with her uncle. Thorin went all alphahole and Aurelia called him out on his shit.
Aurelia sighs and looks up at me as if hoping I’ll save her.
“Good luck,” I mumble before I walk away, ripping my shirt over my head as I start for the water. I stop at the edge and drop my shorts before tossing them a safe distance away. The water is cool despite it being the middle of July, and it feels like heaven against my sweat-slicked skin as I wade in.
When I’m deep enough, I begin swimming laps until my thoughts are no longer muddled and I can focus.
We’re going back.
And going back means Isaac will find me that much sooner. I don’t know how to feel about it yet. A part of me wants it to be over so I can finally start living—for Aurelia, for my brothers…for me. The other, quieter part is whispering that it can’t be done. Isaac can’t be defeated. Even now my muscles are threatening to lock up at the thought of him, but I force my arms and legs to keep moving through the water as I sort out my own secret plan to keep my family safe.
We’ve already decided that getting into Isaac’s compound a second time won’t be possible. My brother is nothing if not a perfectionist. Any flaws that Khalil and Thorin already exposed getting me out will have already been compensated for twice over.
The only viable solution is drawing Isaac out.
And straight to me.
Of course, Khalil, Thorin, and even Aurelia rejected that plan, which means I’m alone in this. Maybe it’s the way it should be. The way it was always meant to be. Khalil and Thorin might be able to hide me from Isaac, but they haven’t been able to shield me from the memories. Those are never far away.
I’m swimming toward the shore when Khalil shoves Aurelia against a tree and traps her there by her throat. Aurelia escapes his hold quicker than she did yesterday, and Khalil’s visible surprise costs him when she slams the heel of her palm into his nose unnecessarily.
I hear his shout of pain as he stumbles backward while clutching his nose. “Goddamn it, Aurelia.” His tone is more growl than anything, but Aurelia is far from intimidated. She crosses her arms and leans most of her weight on one leg as I leave the lake.
“I told you that I’m hungry. You said I can eat when I manage to make you bleed.” A tiny smirk—all she dares with Khalil glaring at her—plays at the corner of her lips. “Mission accomplished.”
Khalil doesn’t say a word. He just repositions his fingers over his broken nose and then snaps it back into place before walking the few feet to the shoreline to wash away the blood. He walks past me again and then snatches Aurelia’s bag that he brought with him from the ground. Inside is a plastic-wrapped sandwich filled mostly with meat that he tosses to her.
Instead of eating it, her gaze finds mine. “Are you okay?”
Her question draws Khalil’s attention, and since he knows me better than anyone and Aurelia is beginning to, I turn my back on them both as I answer. “I will be.”
AURELIA
I have no one to blame but myself when Khalil knocks me to the ground for the third time. It’s our sparring session, and I’m distracted. It’s getting hotter every day with the sun in my eyes becoming more obnoxious by the minute, but that’s not what’s bothering me.
“Ow,” I say accusingly toward the sometimes-gentle giant—when he’s not training me to become a killing machine. Khalil really takes these sparring lessons seriously, and the bruises I usually walk away with are starting to overlap but none more than my confidence so I wear them with pride.
“You’re not focusing,” he snaps when I send him a knowing glare.
The reason for my distraction is currently watching us spar from the porch a few feet away.
Zeke and I have gone right back to where we were pre-waterfall—before he had his fingers in my pussy and his tongue in my mouth. Before he told me how he feels.