Page 3 of Reign

I’m thirsty.

I’ve cried so much my head feels fuzzy and full.

Mamma’s phone dies before the last of the sunlight disappears.

I flip the light switch. Nothing happens.

I flip it again anyway.

I curl up on the floor beside the bed with Mamma’s phone clutched tight in my hand. I don’t want to sleep. I’m scared if I sleep, something worse will happen.

The house is too quiet.

Every little sound makes me jump.

A creak. A thud. Voices far away.

Then finally, the latch unlocks.

I scramble up so fast I almost fall. “Papa?”

The door flies open. Papa is there.

He looks bigger than usual, filling the doorway. Before I can breathe right, he crosses the room and scoops me into his arms.

“Elena.” His voice is rough. “Where’s Mamma?”

I burst into tears so hard I can barely talk. “Two men took her. They—they came in a black car and they took her and I called and I called you over and over—”

Papa pulls back just enough to look at me. His grip almost hurts. “What men?”

I open my fist and show him the crumpled piece of paper.

“Mamma wrote it.”

He takes it from me, eyes scanning the words.

Something in his face changes.

It gets colder.

“Did she say anything else?” he asks.

I nod against him, my chest shaking. “She said to tell you she’d be okay.”

For one second, Papa closes his eyes.

Then he tucks me tighter against him and carries me out of the room.

I cling to his shirt as he moves fast through the house. Men are already inside, speaking too loud, too fast. The air feels wrong. Sharp. Like it could cut.

Papa doesn’t stop.

He takes me outside. The evening air chills my wet cheeks as he heads for the car. That’s when I see it.

Something glinting near the front walk.

Mamma’s necklace.