His dark chuckle echoed like slow drumbeats in my ears. I lunged forward, the cuffs yanking me back hard. My voice cracked as I screamed, “There werechildrenin that house! You think I could kill my own blood? The family my father built from the ground up? I didn’t put that bullet in my brother’s head. And I didn’t light that fire. He was already dead when I got there!”
“Then what happened?” Watson asked softly. “That is all we want to know, Ms. Spade.”
His voice pulled me back from the edge like a smooth hand resting on my shoulder. I turned toward him, the calm in his gaze quieting the storm raging in my mind just long enough for me to breathe. There was empathy in those eyes—real, honest empathy that wasn’t manufactured in a training room.
So I told them.
Told them every moment, every choice I regretted, every second that led me to the ruins of my home. I gave them everything.
When I finally finished, the silence around the three of us felt heavier than the chains holding me in place. My head bowed, and for the first time tonight, hot tears spilled down my cheeks. They hit the metal table with soft, explosive drops that echoed like bombs in my chest.
“The Knights of Lovelen destroyed the only good thing in my world,” I whispered. My heart beat so loudly it felt like it might tear out of my chest. In the dark of my memory, I saw them—those cold, merciless green eyes I had met just before the end.
Kaius Mordred, King of Lovelen.
I lifted my gaze and stared directly at Watson. “If given the chance, I would burn this entire city to the ground just for them to feel a fraction of what I feel right now.”
CHAPTER TWO
acelynn
TWO MONTHS LATER
Everything about me was a lie.
From the jet-black box dye hastily applied over my bleached hair in the dim bathroom of a police station, to the fake ID tucked securely in my wallet, there wasn’t a trace of my real identity left—except for the necklace. The only piece of my former life I was allowed to keep.
A thin silver chain hid beneath my shirt, and at the end of it dangled a single deadly charm—a black ace of spades. My fingers brushed against the familiar outline, comforted by the cold metal pressing into my skin. A reminder. A warning.
Acelynn Thorton.
The name was acid in my mouth, a sick joke courtesy of the smug detective who had arranged this whole charade. He knew exactly what he was doing—picking a name that would twist theknife every time I spoke it. An ode to the mighty Spade family, which had fallen so far from grace. I had no doubt that kind of cruelty would be a regular occurrence every time we spoke from here on out.
The soft chime of the Cactus & Chrome Diner’s front door broke me out of my thoughts. It was just past three in the morning. The usual drunk crowd had trickled out, leaving behind an exhausted waitress, a couple in the corner, and me—waiting.
I didn’t spare the others a glance.
Becauseshehad just arrived.
Astoria Mordred, darling of Lovelen and my one-way ticket to getting close enough to her brother to kill him. Even if that wasn’t my official assignment, it was the one I was after. I would feel the King of Lovelen’s blood pool between my fingers by the end of this.
The girl entered the diner like she owned the night—head held high, confidence radiating off her with every step, and a smile on her lips as if the world revolved solely around her. And maybe it did. Dark jeans clung like paint to her long, slender legs, and the orange halter top made her sun-kissed skin glow under the flickering diner lights.
“Come on, Tor,” a man’s voice broke through the silence as he stepped up next to her. He threw a possessive arm around her shoulders. His dark hair flopped perfectly into his face as he beamed at her like she was the only girl left on earth. “Let me stay.”
Astoria rolled her eyes, trying to shrug him off. “Don’t call me that, Nolan. Youknowthe rules.”
Nolan grinned, a slow, arrogant curve of his mouth that should’ve melted her on the spot. “Remind me again, pretty girl.”
She didn’t even blink. Astoria Mordred was immune to his charm, and Nolan was trying too hard to get her to spare him a glance.
A glint of gold flashed on his left hand as he twirled a strand of her honey-blonde hair around his fingers. My eyes narrowed at the symbol engraved into the ring.
The Knights of Lovelen insignia.
It shimmered in the hard diner lights. A simple piece at first glance, but it was unmistakable. A holy grail that was cracked clean down the middle, with a crooked crown dangling from the rim. Around the base of the cup, delicate flowers bloomed.
Not decorative.
