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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Beep. Beep. Beep.
A muffled groan cut through the fog in my brain. It wasn't until the dull ache pulsing through my body subsided did I realise the sound had come from me. I peeled my eyes open and moaned when the simple movement throbbed at the back of my skull.
My tongue was glued to the roof of my mouth, and I wondered how many times I would need to wake up like this before I finally started drinking enough water. Speaking of water, a faint dripping echoed to my left, endless and persistent.
Where was I?
The smell of bleach and disinfectant overwhelmed my nose, and I wrinkled them.
Everything came crashing back to me then in a whirlwind of memories and broken images. Derek. The letters. The hitman. Isa. The copycat. I let out a pained breath.
Muted voices pierced through the rush. They sounded both relieved and frantic - like they weren't sure which one to feel. I tried at another peek and a blurry shadow filled my vision. Red hair and wide amber eyes stared at me.
"Cara?" I rasped.
"Oh, thank God," she breathed and released a small laugh as she cupped my face. "You're awake. Finally, you're awake." And then she frowned and pinched my elbow. "You little shit! You made all of us worried sick! I thought I was going insane!"
I groaned and shut my eyes again.
"You're too loud."
"Rightfully so! I felt like tearing my hair out when you passed out!"
I groaned again and brought my hands over to my face but when a tight pinch shot through my fingers, I set it back down. I peeked my eyes open to see a needle in my hand.
A snort came from my other side. Blonde hair and blue eyes. I tried for a smile.
"Hey, Lils."
Cara scoffed.
"Hi, Leia," she chuckled and patted my hand. "Ignore Ms. Pissy over there. She's been a bitch to all of us these past three days."
Cara gasped, outraged but before she could start an argument, I spoke through the clogs in my throat. "Three days? What happened?"
Lily and Cara exchanged glances before Lily settled her gaze back onto me, a slight pinch to her clean-cut brows.
"You passed out due to substantial blood loss. They put you through a transfusion though, so you should be fine."
I nodded and took a moment to look around the bare room. Besides Cara and Lily, the only other people here were Sam and Hunter who were guarding the door.
"Where are the guys?"
I looked between the two and Cara's eyes sparkled at the question.
