What had been the point? He’d been working so hard, making all these improvements, and for what? When it came to the most important moment, when Melanie had needed him the most, he’d failed.
Poor Jenna.
Steel had left her after the funeral. He’d remained outside in the rain as they’d lowered Melanie into the ground—and then he’d vanished. No one had been able to get a hold of him, and it hadn’t missed anyone’s notice that Scar was gone, too. Neither were wearing their trackers, but Keys wouldn’t have looked for them even if they were.
They were going to do what Keys had failed to do. They were going to find and kill Griffin Shaw, the fucker who had murdered Melanie to get back at Steel for something that happened thirty years ago.
Not wanting to look at his reflection anymore, Keys left the bathroom. His phone, still on silent from the service, vibrated in his pocket. He ignored it, removing only his boots before he crawled into bed. Rain pelted the window in a rhythmic pattern.
His phone kept vibrating.
Keys took off his watch and placed it on his nightstand. The backlight of his monitors on his desk was the only illumination in the dark, dreary room. He didn’t feel like turning on his Charmander nightlight.
His phone continued to vibrate.
The hesitant thought that perhaps it was Steel made him pull the device from his front pocket. But it wasn’t Steel. The caller was unknown, but the number was odd. Instead of seven or nine digits, it was eight.
267937-63
It took him less than a second to identify and solve the polyphonic substitution cipher. He frowned, unimpressed. And the fact that this was the first time she was calling him in the nine months they’d known each other was the only reason he answered as ordered.
But that didn’t mean he was in the mood for pleasantries. “Your sister is sleeping three rooms down from me.”
“Fuck. You know.” Her voice was just as sweet as he remembered.
“I know.” Keys stared up at his dark ceiling. “I’m not okay, Rose.”
She was silent for a heartbeat before saying, “I know. Saying that ‘I’m sorry’ seems so empty right now. I want to offer to help you, but I don’t know how or what you need.”
“Can you just…talk to me?” His voice wavered as his chin shook. He meant it as a question, but it came out more like a plea.
“Of course. Do you want to talk about something specific or do you just want me to fill the void?”
“Just anything,” he begged sadly. “I don’t want to think about today. I don’t want to hurt anymore.”
“Okay. Um…” Rose cleared her throat. “Once upon a time, there was a misunderstood princess. She was the second daughter of the mighty king, but no matter how hard she tried, she was never good enough. Her older sister was the king’s heir and the favorite, so the misunderstood princess started to rebel. When she caused too much trouble, the king and queen sent her to a nastier kingdom that was supposed to teach the misunderstood princess discipline. Instead of helping her, though, this kingdom gave her access to a mystic realm she’d never known existed, and through many self-taught lessons, the misunderstood princess did many terrible things, and committed many crimes. But she always,alwaysfollowed three simple rules: only steal from those who harmed others, never bring harm to a child, and don’t trustanyone.
“For many years, the misunderstood princess excelled in her criminal enterprise and made more money than her parents, the king and queen, could have ever dreamed of. The misunderstood princess hoped that the money would help win the king and queen’s love and approval—but on the day she was due to return to her home kingdom, her parents’ carriage got in an accident, and they both died. Once again, the misunderstood princess was blamed. Her older sister, who was now responsible for raising her, never said it, but the misunderstood princess knew it nonetheless: their parents would have never been in that carriage that day if the misunderstood princess had just behaved and never gotten into trouble.
“Not knowing what else to do, and not wanting to be in her parents’ kingdom without them, the misunderstood princess ran away. But she was young, and never should have been out on her own. She wasn’t ready. Thieves and crooks learned what the misunderstood princess could do in the mystic realm. They convinced her to help them, offered her a place among their family. A family like she’d never had in her own kingdom.
“It was all a lie, though. She was too young, too naïve, and too heartbroken to understand until it was too late. The thieves and crooks only wanted her for what her talents in the mystic realm could offer them, and they did not care what happened to her. One day, the misunderstood princess was plotting her escape when she ran into a smuggler. But this man wasn’t just any smuggler—he was also a very powerful duke! Knowing this man was very dangerous and had no care if he harmed children as well asadults, the misunderstood princess went to the knight’s guard. This group of armed men were very brave and powerful. They vowed to protect her, but they also needed proof of her claims. The misunderstood princess had no choice but to stay with the thieves and crooks longer to try to get them to incriminate themselvesandto prove that the smuggler they were working with was actually the duke she claimed him to be.
“Just as she got the evidence to the knight’s guard, however, the head thief and duke realized what the misunderstood princess was up to. In their world, she was a rat, and rats were exterminated! The duke ordered her execution. If it wasn’t for the quick actions of one knight’s guard, the misunderstood princess would have died that day. Instead, the knight’s guard made it look like she had died while they were actually sending her away with a special warrior’s guild that excelled at hiding people.
“But the misunderstood princess was not satisfied with leaving the knight’s guard to deal with the duke, the thieves, and the crooks. They’d tried to kill her, and she was going to get her revenge. Entering the mystic realm was against the rules, but one of the warrior’s guild took a liking to the misunderstood princess and gave her access back to the mystic realm while he was courting her. He appeared kind, a rugged protector out of legend. The misunderstood princess fancied herself in love with this warrior, once again too young and naïve to see the mask he wore around her until much later.
“Through the mystic realm, the misunderstood princess used her powers to contact her sister—only to discover the older princess had abdicated her throne and kingdom after learning about her sister’s murder. Knowing her sister was also out for revenge, the misunderstood princess gave her sister the information on the thieves and crooks, while leaving the duke for herself. After all, he had been the one to order her death! Rather than attack him, though, the misunderstood princess used her powersto tell his subjects about his crimes. Some believed the tales being told, while others defended the duke. In the end, the duke could not stand the humiliation and took his own life.
“The misunderstood princess got her revenge.
“But her happiness was short-lived, for the warrior she fancied herself in love with took off his mask and revealed his true face. He was no warrior, but an ogre in disguise. He could not love because he had no heart, and the entire time he’d been with the misunderstood princess, he’d been grooming her, training her. He wanted her to use her body to pleasure and please his ogre friends. The misunderstood princess learned that she was not the only one of his charges the warrior’s guild had entrusted to him that he was blackmailing and using for his sick, twisted desires.
“Once again, the misunderstood princess learned she could not trust anyone. She’d forgotten her initial rules, but now she remembered. Now she had to protect not only herself but the other charges in the ogre’s care. Before the ogre could bring the misunderstood princess to his fiendish friends, she brought several of the warrior’s guild to the ogre’s home when he had his mask removed. They saw him for what he truly was, and took him away to their secret dungeon.
“They offered their apologies, even took the misunderstood princess away from the land where the ogre had been keeping her. But she was done trusting others. The world, her own kingdom, thought her dead, and she planned to keep it that way. She ran away from the warrior’s guild, leaving behind a doppelgänger in her place.
“Now the misunderstood princess is not free. She did not run to a utopian land where she never had to worry about enemies finding her. Instead, she remained behind, watching over and protecting her sister with the use of the mystic realm and her powers. The misunderstood princess still has many of her own crimes that she has to make up for from her youth, and every day,she tries to right a wrong done to an innocent, even knowing that she is now the one who lives in the shadows and wears a mask so no one can find her.”
