When vengeance strikes in the form of a bullet out for the princess's blood, Princess Aleia VonAuclair must flee the heart of her country in order to protect the people she loves and take back the pieces of her soul she'd lost to the girl she once l...
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I notched another arrow against the taut strings of my bow, lodging the shaft between the pads of my fingers and fired.
Thud.
"We need to talk."
Bryan came bounding into the basement, his eyes stern and his mouth pulled down into an accusatory frown. My brows pinched with wariness but I reached behind me for another arrow from the quiver strapped to my back instead.
"About?"
The nock brushed the skin of my shoulder, and I pulled it over my head in one swift movement into the crest of the wooden bow.
"About you and Mr Loverboy yesterday."
I faltered. My fingers stumbled and the arrow lodged itself into the outer rims of the target, way out of bounds from the red circle in the center.
Bryan's gaze shifted to the missed arrow and then back to me with a pointed glance.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," I said, my voice steady and my expression neutral.
The only thing keeping me from betraying the crippling nerves playing my insides like an out of tune violin, was the distraction of aiming another arrow into the target. I fought to focus on the target, on the set way I pulled back the bow string because I had a feeling if I didn't, I wouldn't like what would happen – the unsaid warning that hung heavy in the air.
After Edrian and I had walked back to the strip mall from the park, too much time had passed by for it to even be considered afternoon anymore. Edrian's mom was barely clinging on to her composure while waiting for her son, chatting easily amongst her colleagues of nurses and medical staff, but the minute he returned unscathed and no longer on the verge of breaking something, she suggested they go home.
Even though Edrian lived on campus, he took it upon himself to make sure his family arrived home safely. I also knew they needed their space to recoup as a family and comfort one another after the ugly show with their father, so I left with a grateful hug from Arina and a wet kiss on the cheek from Mila.
Another arrow. Another target.
Thud.
"Don't play dumb with me, Aleia. We both know what I'm talking about and unless you want me to bring Nate into this, you better start talking."
I clenched my jaw so hard, I half expected a slivering crack to sound out. Another arrow notched, another string pulled taut. Another thud.
Blowing out a steady breath, I tucked the loose tendrils of hair behind my ears and angled back to face Bryan. His hard expression came into view, the fine line between pure displeasure and irritation in the sharp lines of his shoulders.
"You are not bringing Nate into this," I said, and I knew based on the way his eyes flashed, that mine were wild with defiance. "And nothing even happened, Bryan. What do you want me to say? His asshole dad showed up and he nearly broke his face in half? That his little sister was crying so hard, I was worried she'd pass out if her brother did something even worse? Like lash out at an entire party of nurses and doctors?"
