Rise of a Queen (Kingdom Duet #2) by Rina Kent

Will I ever get used to this? Worse, will I ever forget about this?

Layla makes a face at Jonathan’s back, obviously still holding a grudge about the way he chased her away. Ethan’s lips pull up into a mysterious smile as he watches us like a cat who’s caught a mouse.

Jonathan takes me back to the room, his strides firm and purposeful. He walks with the same confidence he exudes — there’s no hint of doubt. But this time, it’s almost as if he’s angry.

He lowers me to the ground, my bare feet getting swallowed by the plush carpet, then he kicks the door shut.

When he faces me, I’m pinned in place by the darkness in his gaze.

It’s almost as if he’s been saving it and he’s now unleashing it.

By the time he speaks, his voice is clipped and non-negotiable. “Don’t you ever, and I mean ever, show up dressed like that in front of Ethan or any other man. Is that understood?”

The possessiveness in his tone turns my skin hot and tingly.

“I said, is that fucking understood, Aurora?”

All I can do is nod.

Seeming satisfied with the answer, the edge slightly leaves his features. “Why did you come down anyway?”

“I…I didn’t want you to fight with Ethan first thing in the morning.”

The slight ease vanishes and he closes down like the vault he is. “Worried about him?”

When I don’t answer, he reaches me in two long strides and wraps a hand around my throat. “Are you?”

“No.”

“Then what is it?”

“I…you…you barely slept last night.” My lips tremble. “Right?”

His expression is unreadable, and I expect him to confirm that I’m insane, but he loosens his hold on my throat. “Right.”

Right. I didn’t make that up. He did sleep beside me. He wasn’t disgusted with me to the point he didn’t want to touch me.

Does that mean I didn’t make up those voices either?

“Come on.” He takes me by the wrist so as not to hurt my palm. “Let me help with the shower so you can get ready.”

“Get ready for what?”

“Don’t you have to go to work?”

A long breath leaves me. Not because he’s giving me back my freedom — because, in a way, I knew Jonathan would keep his word — but because of the fact that he didn’t bring up the part where he thinks I’m crazy.

But then he stares at me over his shoulder and gives me that look again.

The pity.

The disappointment.

He…he’s going to get rid of me, isn’t he?

Just like Alicia.





13





Aurora





Even though I go to work, I can’t concentrate.

All I keep thinking about is those voices grating on my nerves and whispering things like:

She’s losing her mind, just like Alicia.

What makes it worse is the way Jonathan looked at me. And then he didn’t attempt to touch me during my shower today. His movements were anything but sexual with the sole purpose of helping me bathe.

Usually, his hands wander all over my body and he demands I beg him to finger me or bring me to orgasm.

Not today. He had no interest in me, even when I stood fully naked in front of him. I pretend that doesn’t slice through me and leave a wound worse than the ones covering my body.

Being the sole focus of his touch just to lose it all of a sudden is harsher than I ever thought.

After the shower, he helped me dress, then disappeared.

Just like that. No words. No orders for later per his usual.

Just…nothing.

The coldness I felt when he walked out the door was like being shoved into a freezer and locked inside.

Is that what he also did with Alicia when she started losing her mind?

Not that I am. I’m not.

Though coming all the way here to prove my theory is probably pushing it.

I went to my old building during my lunch break, where Paul insisted that there was no package and he didn’t see me on that day. Shelby, my grumpy neighbour, wasn’t there for me to hold him witness. When I asked Paul where he was, he said he was having trouble with the law and was solving it at the police station.

Then, after I left, a scary thought assaulted me. What if the attack with Sarah never happened? I mean, how would she know where I lived, even if she saw me in that charity event?

Did she see me? Was she there or did I make her up?

All those thoughts have been throwing me for a loop. I feel like I exist outside of my body, and I can’t find a way to go back in.

Except for this stupid, irrational action.

I’m standing in front of Aiden and Elsa’s house in Oxford, hand gripping my watch. Elsa sent me the address when I last saw her in an attempt to invite me to dinner. I’ve always refused because Aiden seems like he wants to chop my head off.

Today, I drove the whole way here. And although I spent almost two hours on the road, I still haven’t exactly managed to gather my thoughts.

The rain pours as if the sky is revolting against the world. The dusk has come and gone, and the early evening adds to the gloominess of the heavy downpour.

I’m soaked in seconds during the small trip from my car to the front door. My hair sticks to my temples and water forms rivulets down my face.