Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 44009 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 220(@200wpm)___ 176(@250wpm)___ 147(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44009 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 220(@200wpm)___ 176(@250wpm)___ 147(@300wpm)
As the other girls grabbed and yanked at my clothes, I tried to lash out and push them away, but there were too many of them. The rain blinded my vision, and the mud kept making me slip. I fell right back into their hands, feeling their nails rake across my skin and their hands tear my clothes to pieces.
“Stop!” I shouted, wishing that someone would see and help me.
“Cry all you want. You’re not a King’s girl anymore. You’re just a used-up whore,” Erin snapped at me as she hovered above me. She then spat on me, inciting a symphony of cruel laughter from the other girls.
“This is what you get for putting us in exile. We were waiting for the Kings to realize that you weren’t special. That you weren’t worthy of them,” Poppy said, sharing a glare with Erin.
I put my hands up, trying to convince them to back off. My skin stung from where they scratched me, and I could feel the rain gliding down parts of my body that should’ve been covered by my clothes. My shirt was hanging off me in shreds. My pants were ripped at the knee and thigh. I didn’t even know where my shoes were.
“Just let me go. They don’t want anything to do with me anymore,” I said. I didn’t like to beg, but I wanted to live today. I didn’t need to make any more enemies, and it wasn’t like I had much of a fighting spirit left.
“You’re right. They don’t.” Poppy smirked before looping her arm with Erin’s. “They’re ours now.”
Hearing those words made my body ache even more than it already did from their assault. I wanted the Kings to be mine, but I was also smart enough to know that they were secretive and tricky. I was only looking out for myself… and getting close with a King they didn’t want me to be near. I had a weak spot for each of the Kings, and I knew they all had a weak spot for me.
Did it hurt Zephyr to do this to me? I couldn’t help but wonder how much of a push it took for him to throw my clothes out and end things with me without even talking to me. Maybe it was easy for him. He had already been upset with me earlier that day. Maybe I’d finally pushed him too far.
“There’s nothing left for you. You should just kill yourself before you get anyone else killed. Like poor little Gail,” Erin sneered at me.
“And Aunt Amelia. You’re a curse,” Poppy added, sharing a displeased look with Erin.
Their words cut into me like broken glass. The worst part was that I wondered if they were right or not. What if I was cursed?
“Come on,” Erin said, giving me a disgusted look before dragging Poppy off. The rest of their group followed behind them, laughing among themselves.
I waited for a moment, catching my breath and trying to breathe through the pain before pushing myself to my feet. A ringing sound filled my head as dizziness struck me. Pain ached all over my body, and I thought that I was about to pass out.
I heard a light chuckle from behind me, coaxing me to look over my shoulder at the sight of Zephyr and Arvo leaning against the wall, smoking cigarettes as they peered at me. They had seen everything, but they did nothing to help me. Nothing at all.
Arvo even seemed to look amused as his eyes rested on me. Meanwhile, Zephyr’s face was still and emotionless. For some reason, it hit me harder than Arvo’s reaction. It was like Zephyr didn’t care an ounce about me anymore.
Feeling tears burn my eyes, I wrapped my arms around my aching body and hurried out of their sight, trying to hold myself together. My chest and throat were so tight that they ached painfully, adding onto the physical and mental agony that I already felt. Only when I was in a corner away from everyone did I let the tears fall from my eyes.
CHAPTER 17
BIBA
“That’s what I figured,” Schmidt muttered, before letting out a sigh. “How can you relay information to me about the Kings when they won’t let you near them?”
I supposed that he brought up a good point. I wasn’t close to the Kings any longer to be in the know about anything.
“I can figure something out,” I replied. “Besides, I was around them for quite a while.”
Schmidt hummed under his breath thoughtfully.
“Well, unfortunately, I can’t give you any information until you tell me Zephyr’s plans in explicit detail,” he told me with a shrug.
I ground my teeth as I stared hard at him. Of course. With a crash, the front door of my childhood home slammed open as a torrent of heavy rain fell outside. At first, I thought it was the storm that blew the door open, but as I crept down the hallway and peeked around the corner to look into the foyer, I realized that wasn’t the case at all. The gusty wind wasn’t the culprit. Instead, it was a drenched, bleeding man.