Torrent of Tears (Scourge Survivor Series Book 3)(43)

He winced. “What?”

“Ew, gods, I wasn’t asking about that, I just meant . . . did the Queen seem angry? Did she know you helped me?”

He shook his head.

“Then we still have time to figure out a plan. We’ll get Elani out of the palace and we’ll figure out a way to keep the Strati from ever coming for either of you again.”

As I fell into the green-gold depths of his gaze his expression hardened. “You’re a dangerous woman, Alexannia Grace.” He launched off the bed and opened a drawer of the bureau. “I can’t afford to believe in your promises. Elani is all I have left.”

“I would never do anything to endanger—”

“Intentionally, maybe,” he spat, “but you put people in danger. You stir up trouble. You wreak havoc and innocent people pay your dues. I don’t think you realize how reckless you are, even after your friend’s death.”

The fissure left in my heart from Tham’s death cracked wider. “I’m sorry you’re raw about coming here, Rowan, but you re-opened that wound, not me. I would have found somewhere to stay, if not at Balor’s—”

“Please,” he snorted, venom thick in his voice. “The Queen’s spies would have notified her the moment you set foot near the townhouses. But you knew that, didn’t you?”

I gripped the bedding, trying not to lunge. “What the hell does that mean?”

“It means I see through your poor, displaced-orphan routine. There’s nothing weak about you, Princess.” He swept his arm across his front and gave an exaggerated bow. “You’re just getting the lay of the land. Hell, you’ve been orchestrating things since you got here.”

“If you believe that bullshit, you don’t know me at all.”

“I know Terran, Coal, and I have had our lives upended. We used to know how to manage the status quo, now we’re skirting death just by being part of your life. Shit, I walked into my own kitchen just now and you had three soldiers sitting up and panting on your every word like puppets.” His eyes narrowed. “Your mother has that same gift.”

I was off the edge of the bed before his words had even sunk in. “I’m the one caught in the perfect storm here, Doc. I’m riding this wave and trying not to choke on the surf or get crushed on the rocks. In four days, I’ve lost my home, watched my father’s head roll, found out my mother is a demon-bitch from the depths of hell and held my best friend as he died—”

“Poor Tham.” He scrubbed his palm across his unshaven jaw and laughed. He actually fucking laughed. “My point exactly. Even with you in another realm your undercurrent was strong enough to tow him in and drag him under.”

My fist connected with his face hard and fast. Rowan’s head flipped back like a snapped rubber band. I grabbed his crisp, white shirt and swung him to the ground. When he back-flatted on the floor I landed my knee in his chest and pinned him.

“You bastard.” Choking on fury and anguish my hands wrapped around his throat. “Don’t you ever . . . laugh about Tham’s murder.”

He glared at me, his Adam’s apple pressing hard on the flesh of my palm, his left eye doing a serious water and blink from where I’d nailed him.

My temper exploded through every cell in my body and I thought I might kill him. But before I gave in to slamming his skull against the floor I remembered the last time I’d lost my cool. The aftermath of that little tantrum with Mika was something I truly didn’t want to repeat.

“Again I thought we were almost friends. My mistake.” I released my grip and strode for the open double doors. “Forget it. Forget everything.”

I raced past the naked marble statue. Through the room I shared with Coal. The bathroom door slammed behind me and I twisted the lock. I slid down the wall and let my ass bottom out on the cool, marble tile. My trembling arms hung off my knees and my head dropped back.

What the hell was I doing here? Closing my eyes, I fought the tide of emotions threatening to detonate and take out a city block. If one more thing happened, I was going to lose it and it would be a scene or horror like you read about.

Knock. Knock.

I was on my feet. I flung the door open, screeching a particularly colorful string of curses—except it wasn’t Rowan. “Coal,” I choked, my eyes glassing up. He stood wide-eyed, ginger hair poking away from his head in tufts. I’d forgotten he was sleeping in the bed. I probably scared the crap out of him when I slammed the door. “Oh, gods, buddy. I’m sorry. I didn’t know it was you.”

The frozen uncertainty blanketing the kids face was more than I could take. Now I was scaring a little boy? My hands were trembling, my back aching, my pulse thundering in my ears. My chest was so tight that I’d swear no air would ever pass through my lungs again.

I sunk to my knees and opened my arms and he didn’t hesitate. “I’m sorry,” I breathed against his soft neck. The wall of moisture brimming my eyes began to fall. I hugged him tighter. “I’m angry, but not at you. We’re good.”

I pulled back and cupped his lean face in my hands. He looked so lost it broke my heart. “You and I will always be good. You don’t know me well yet, but you’re mine now. I’ll die before I let anything happen to you, okay.”

He leaned back and read my expression.