Twisted Kingdom (Royal Elite #3) by Rina Kent

For the past two days, Dad has been taking me on long tours of the property.

I remember bits and pieces from the past, but they’re barely thirty per cent of my childhood. It’s like my memories have been frozen and there’s no way to ‘unfreeze’ them.

Dad has been patient, talking about how both of us used to come to the garden after he returned from work. I was home-schooled at the time and he often helped me with my homework.

The topic of my mother has been on the tip of my tongue, but I stopped myself from mentioning her. One, I didn’t have enough courage. Two, Knox always joined us on our walks, challenging me about beating him in becoming Dad’s favourite. They’re jokes on the outside, but I can feel the rivalry deep inside him. While he appears lighthearted, Knox is in fact lethal when it comes to what he wants.

Being with him is fun, though. It reminds me of the friendships I left behind.

My chest aches at the thought. It pains me how much I miss Kim and Ronan and even Xander and Cole.

I miss the easy friendship we share, the laughs, and even the secrets lurking under the surface. The horsemen might be royalty in RES, but each of them carries a mystery so tangible, it’s enticing.

As for Aiden…

Nope.

I’ve been blocking him from my mind since I arrived here. He doesn’t deserve my thoughts or my tears. Not now, not ever.

Maybe if I keep numbing myself to him and his enigmatic existence, I’ll eventually erase him.

Delusional much, Elsa?

I squash that voice as soon as it rises.

“Do you remember that tree?” Dad motions to an old plum tree at the eastern side of the garden. “You used to climb it all the time and then you had trouble getting down, like a kitten.”

I smile, stopping in my tracks next to Dad.

Agnus needed Knox to help him with the house’s inventory. My foster brother — it’s still weird to think of him that way — only agreed when Agnus promised him the new expensive headphones he’s been eyeing.

For some reason, I think Agnus pulled Knox aside because he knows Dad and I need alone time.

I wrap the coat across my chest. It’s not raining, but the chilly weather hits me to the bones. The dark-grey clouds hang above us with a sinister promise of a starless night in the near future. Like Aiden’s eyes.

Nope. Not going there.

Why the hell does he have eyes the colour of the clouds before the rain? Now he’ll barge into my mind whenever it rains. In a country like England, that’s pure torture.

It’s like being caught in the eye of a hurricane, smashed and wrecked to pieces, and having no way out.

I push him out of my mind and focus on Dad.

He’s wearing a black, tailored suit but no coat. It’s like he doesn’t get cold.

Like Eli.

When we were little, my hands were ice cold, but Eli’s felt like cosy winters and hot chocolate.

We drank it a lot together. Hot chocolate, I mean.

A wave of sadness hits me at the memory of him — or the lack thereof. His face is still a blur, even now.

This is the first time Dad and I have spent time alone; it’s my chance to ask questions. Who knows when Knox will decide to join us again?

I motion at the empty space near the tree. “There was a swing there. Ma used to hold me in it and sing to me.”

Dad freezes as if I’ve just spilt a bucket of ice water over his head.

I tense like a rigid cord. What have I done? Did I say something wrong?

“You remember.” It’s not a question, more like an observation — and not a very happy one at that.

“A little.” A long sigh heaves out of me as if I haven’t released a breath in ten years. “I know Ma wasn’t mentally stable and she became worse after Eli drowned. I know all about your bet with Jonathan King, the Great Birmingham fire, and Aiden’s kidnapping.”

A gush of wind blows my hair and my coat back. I grit my teeth against the cold and... something else.

I didn’t mean to blurt it out in one go, but I guess my thirst for the truth got the better of me.

Dad remains motionless, but I’m not sure if it’s due to shock or contemplation.

“Your mum never wanted to hurt you, princess. She was mentally unwell. People do things they don’t mean when they suffer from mental illnesses.”

“But she did hurt me, Dad.” My voice trembles like the tree branches. “She hit me on the back with a horsewhip.”

“She… did?”

The tick in his jaw almost makes me want to stop talking, but I don’t. I’ve been silent for ten years, and now that I started speaking, it’s impossible to go back. I owe myself this much.

Tears fill my eyes as I probe my useless head for answers. “I think it was when she found me near the basement. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you two to fight.”

“Princess…”

“She tortured Aiden,” I blurt. “He was a child, Dad. He was as old as Eli at that time, and he had red marks all over his skin and was chained to the wall. Did you know that he still has those scars? His back and ankle are a witness to Ma’s abuse.”

The need to cry for Aiden hits me out of nowhere. True, he’s a monster now, and I won’t ever forgive him, but that doesn’t deny what happened to him as a child.

Ma ruined his innocence.