Page 57 of Kael

Miyori's mouth filled with blood, but she didn't cower or cry. She spat it onto the marble between them and glared at her.

I could tell it was taking everything in Maya—and every drop of control I had left—not to scream and fight the men holding us back.

Lilith grabbed her by the hair and yanked her head back so hard something in Miyori's neck popped. She leaned in close, eyes too bright, breath hot and uneven.

"You were the one," she whispered. "The mistress. While I was still his wife. While I was still breathing for him. He came home smelling like you. I could taste you on him. Do you know what that does to a person?"

Miyori's voice came out rough, wet with blood. "You should take that up with him. Like I had a choice."

Lilith's smile stretched wider, almost giddy. "Choice? You spread your legs for a married man and call it no choice?" She slammed Miyori's face sideways into the wall. The impact left asmear of blood and hair. Miyori's knees buckled. Lilith held her up by the hair and drove a knee into her stomach hard enough to fold her.

Miyori gasped, coughing blood onto the floor. "He didn't ask. He took. Same as he takes everything. You know that better than anyone."

Lilith hit her again—open palm this time, across the already-split cheek. Fresh blood sprayed. "I was the wife. I was the one who stayed. I was the one who bled for him. And he still chose you."

Miyori lifted her head, one eye already swelling shut, blood running in a steady line from her mouth. "Then go argue with him. I'm not the one who made the vows. I'm not the one who kept coming back."

Lilith's laugh cracked in the middle. She shoved Miyori down hard. Miyori hit the marble on her hands and knees, blood dripping steadily from her face.

Maya's voice cut through, raw. "How the fuck aren't you dead? We saw the pictures."

Lilith turned, still smiling, blood on her knuckles and the front of her dress. "My cousin Matteo. He's very good at faking death certificates. He's the only one who never left me. Isn't that sweet?"

Her eyes swept the room again. She counted out loud this time, soft and sing-song.

"One… two… three… four."

Her smile faltered. The manic light in her eyes flickered into something smaller and scared.

"Where's the fifth one?"

Nobody answered.

She spun toward her men, her voice climbing high, shrill, and entirely panicked. "Find her. Now! Find her right fuckingnow. She's supposed to be here. Everyone is supposed to be here!"

Chapter 35

Priest

My phone buzzed against the table.

I snatched it up, already moving. Miyori’s name lit the screen.

“Priest.”

Not her voice. Zia’s—low, tight, the kind of calm people only use when they’re trying not to scream.

“Why do you have Miyori’s phone?”

“I took it.” A shaky breath. “Someone broke in. A lot of someones. Armed. They came through the front like they owned the place.”

The room narrowed. A hundred men on that property. Gates. Cameras. Distance. It should have been impossible.

“I’m in the basement,” she said. “Got out before they saw me. But they have her. They have all of them.”

I was already at the door. “Who?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t recognize the woman. But she’s the one giving orders.” Another breath, faster this time. “She’s been—Priest, she’s been beating Miyori for the last ten minutes. I can hear it from down here. The sound carries.”