Page 79 of His Prince

Katarina’s. I gave this to her on our wedding night.

The way she sighed when I placed it around her dainty wrist.

She was wearing it the night she died.

I clutch it tightly, feeling the poison of it seep through me. But the question is, how did it get down here?

I feel a breeze sweep through the tunnel, and I shiver at the damp air as it drifts by me. Through me.

I glance backward and see something move in the shadows. I startle slightly, taking a step away, and then suddenly something rushes me and everything goes black.

17

ANGEL

“Where’s Mikhail?” I ask as dinner rolls around and he hasn’t made an appearance. His absence is stabbing at my heart and I hate this for me.

I hate that I let him in and felt something.

And he’s ghosted me.

This is why I can’t ever hope, it’s why I can’t ever let myself fall again.

It only leads to me getting hurt.

“I’ll murder him,” Casey says when he catches me sniffling near the stove.

“I’m fine.”

“You’re not,” he hisses and then huffs in annoyance when Bane slides up next to me, nuzzling into me and biting down on my ear.

“Would you like me to show you something that will make you feel better?”

I glance at him through watery eyes and nod, setting the spoon down and leaving Casey to takeover.

“Don’t worry, Casey-boo, I’ll take care of my Angel.”

Casey glowers at him, and Bane giggles. “He always turns me on when he frowns at me like that. But, sadly, he wants nothing to do with me. I’ve tried and was turned down.”

“How did you try?” I ask as Bane walks me down the hallway toward the guest rooms.

“I snuck into his room naked. He was not impressed. Said there was too much blood on me, but I know that’s not true.” He giggles and then waggles his eyebrows. “There’s never enough blood.”

Bane’s antics have my lips turning up at the corners. Of course he’s managed to make me smile. He’s ridiculous.

“What is it?” I ask as he locks me in a room and scrambles around on the floor, his fingers digging into the boards. Something suddenly pops, a small door opening, and he grins at me.

“Wanna see where this goes?”

I stare down into the hole, darkness glaring back at me, and then I meet Bane’s excited gaze.

“Have you been down here?”

“Duh! It’s the coolest one. Wanna see?”

I glance around, wondering if perhaps Mikhail is watching me from a camera hidden in the room.

“Yeah, show me.”