I snap my head forward, but I don’t say a word.
“You’re lucky Luca still wants you, after you gave yourself to that toothless dickhead like a common slut. If I were you, I’d do my best to keep your new husband happy. When he’s done with you, I won’t take you back.”
You have no idea what you’d do if you were in my shoes.I don’t utter the words aloud, but I swear my father can hear me thinking them. He must notice the new set of my jaw. I’m no longer the little girl who could barely rasp out a defiant word. I’m someone who knows what it feels like to be loved.
More importantly, I now know I deserve love.
Once I get Kepler back, I won’t be Luca’s perfect little wife.
The thought settles warm and startling low in my belly—an unfamiliar strength uncurling like a fist finally opening.
Resolve swells inside me as I square my shoulders, and we approach the altar. Luca leers at me, then reaches over to the table beside him, where Kepler crouches in a tiny wire cage. Luca reaches through the grate and pinches Kepler so hard that he squeals.
“No!” I squeak.
My whole body jerks forward before I can think—pure instinct, pure terror, the kind of reaction you only have for someone who feels like yours.
My father’s grip tightens on my arm, hard enough to bruise. “Quiet. If you embarrass me in front of all these people, I’ll kill that fucking rodent myself. With a sharp rake. Let him bleed out slowly. And your hockey player? Fucking Siberia.”
Before I can stop them, tears roll down my cheeks. I can see my future unfurling before me. Luca and my family have figured out how to bring me back in line. All they have to do is threaten the people and creatures I care about, and I’ll do whatever they ask.
And I can already see that it will never end. Luca can use Kepler against me again and again, bending me to his will, making me capitulate time after time. And it won’t stop with Kepler. If Luca can get me pregnant, he’ll use our children against me. He’ll bend me until I break.
Even knowing this, I can’t turn away now and leave Kepler to his fate. If I run back to Tristan after we’re both safe, I’ll put him in their crosshairs.
I can save them both. I was born for this.
My father finally hands me off to Luca, who grips both of my wrists so hard that I gasp.
“Don’t worry about the chicken cutlets, babe,” Luca says. He leers at my breasts. “Next month, I’ll get it taken careof. Besides…” He leans closer, so that his lips brush my ear. “I’m not going to have you until then, anyway. What if you’re pregnant with that asshole’s bastard? We need to get you tested. And douched.”
My hands ball into fists. Everything about this is wrong. I think of Violet, of Marley, of Knova. My new friends would never let anyone treat them this way.
I feel trivial and pathetic. Maybe because I am.
The priest clears his throat. “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today…”
Beloved.As if anyone I love is here. I sneak a glance toward the guests, where my father and sister sit in the front row. Father’s eyes are still dead and glassy, and Frankie’s wearing the shit-eating grin that I’ve come to expect. My mother is conspicuously absent.
Kepler whimpers in his cage. I wonder what people think. Do they think at all? Can everyone see what Luca’s doing to me? If they can, none of them care. Not one of them.
Who are these people? What made them so cold and subhuman?
I block everything out, mumbling incoherently every time Luca squeezes my wrists. He can control my body, but he can’t control my mind. I think back to every beautiful moment I spent with Tristan.
I wish I’d gotten to say goodbye.
The priest drones. “Does anyone present know of any reason why these two should not be married? If so, speak now or forever hold your—”
The doors at the back of the church slam open. The priest freezes. Everyone else swivels around in shock. When I see the face of the man who’s striding down the aisle, my knees give out altogether. I practically collapse at Luca’s feet.
Tristan. Tristan is here.
My father lurches to his feet. “What is the meaning of this?” His face contorts with fury as he moves to block Tristan’s approach.
Tristan doesn’t so much as glance his way. “I can think of a few reasons why this shouldn’t be happening. One, Luca Bianchi is a piece of shit. Two, Minerva is being coerced. And three… I’m in love with her. If she’s going to marry anyone in this life, it will be me.”
The words hit like sunlight breaking through stained glass—bright, impossible, meant for me.
