Broken Kingdom (Royal Hearts Academy #4)(72)

I instantly regret it the moment I realize we’re stuck at the top.

My belly does a weird, panicked lurch.

Oakley juts his chin. “You see that?”

Nope. I refuse to look at anything other than him.

“See what? That we could plunge to our deaths at any moment?”

I expect him to laugh at my dramatic antics, but his expression grows serious.

“No.” His gaze locks on mine. “That’s the world, baby girl.” The look he gives me steals my breath. “And you’re in it for a reason.”

A sharp twist goes through my chest as I take in the bright lights and the gorgeous view of the town below us.

I’ve been so scared of dying…I haven’t been living.

Because I’ve been too busy missing them.

It’s like my life stopped the day my mother’s did.

And then when Liam died, it broke whatever was left of me.

I honestly can’t remember the last time I took a breath without the weight of my grief pulling me under. Or the last time I looked at something beautiful and didn’t immediately wish they were here to witness it with me.

But maybe—just maybe—it’s okay to smile and enjoy life once in a while.

I couldn’t save them—and it’s something I’ll always feel guilty about.

But I can still save me.

Reaching into the pocket of my jacket, I pull out the paper Oakley gave me.



A soul as black as the night sky.

Lips as red as the blood she’s out for.

The girl who leaves them running scared.

She's a beautiful nightmare.





“You were supposed to read that after the ride,” Oakley reminds me, but I ignore him because I’m too fixated on the words he wrote.

Words he wrote for me.

It’s so hauntingly gorgeous it cuts straight into my heart.

“Kiss me,” I whisper, because I want Oakley’s lips on mine more than my next breath.

I want us…whatever this is.

Gripping the back of my neck, he kisses me long and deep…

As if he needs this as much as I do.





Chapter 32





Oakley





Past…





Her gorgeous smile is so bright it rivals all the lights around us as we get off the Ferris wheel. “Thank you for making me do that.”

I’m about to tell her she doesn’t have to thank me for giving her a new experience, but my phone rings.

I press the ignore button when I see Loki’s name flash across the screen. I’ll hit him back later.

Right now, I have more important things on my mind.

Like the girl next to me.

The one burrowing under my skin.

Rain starts coming down—not enough to soak us—but enough to send some people ducking for cover.

But not Bianca.

She tugs on my hand, gesturing to the live band that’s playing a stripped-down version of some Nickelback song.

“I love this song,” she declares as she walks over to the small stage where they’re performing.

It takes everything in me not to laugh, because almost everyone I know hates the band…but not her.

As usual, the girl is full of surprises.

She ebbs when everyone else flows.

The muscles in my chest draw tight as she sways to the music and fireflies begin flickering around her.

As if they too are utterly captivated by her presence.

The rain picks up, but it still doesn’t stop her.

Hand clutching her heart, she tilts her face up to the night sky, the hem of her now damp dress rising up her thighs as she moves.

I want to remember this moment forever.

Because if life has taught me anything…it’s that beautiful things never last.

No matter how much you might want them to.

I suck in a breath when she smiles again.

She’s like the smell of smoke in the distance…warning you to stay away.

But I can’t.

There’s something about her. Something raw and authentic.

The side of her I might not have known if I had kept listening to Hayley’s lies…or the feeling in my gut.

The one cautioning me she was trouble and not worth the bullshit.

My chest coils as I continue observing her, the alarm bells growing louder in my head.

Watching my dad fall apart after my mom left showed me what a woman can do to a man—the way they can annihilate you and leave you with nothing once they’re through with you—and then I let Crystal do it to me.

I’m not looking to repeat the mistake.

Her dark eyes lock on mine, luring me in. “Dance with me.”

I shake my head, taking a step back.

Bianca Covington is the type of woman who could steal a man's soul and then destroy his existence when she’s done.

If I had any sense, I’d stay far away.

She stops moving, that gorgeous smile falling off her lips as thunder booms above us. “Please.”

Like a moth to a flame, I find myself moving closer, drawn to this frustrating—yet fascinating paradox of a girl I have no business fooling around with.

I grip her waist. “I don’t dance.”