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His voice is… gentle?

His warning takes a second to penetrate the haze of my panic.

I exhale a ragged breath and realize I stopped breathing at some point. I don’t wait for more words, but I do manage to lower the glass and take smaller sips as he suggested.

When I’m finished, I wrap both hands tightly around my prize and hold it in my lap. It’s a pathetic attempt to deter anyone from stealing it from me, but it’s all I have.

Vaelenor stares at me for so long that the weight of it turns uncomfortable. It makes my skin itch, like it’s too tight for my body. His expression is strange. His jaw’s tight, and the two dark slashes of his brow draw together in a way that makes him look angry.

He turns his attention back to his breakfast and cuts into his food with a bit more force than necessary. When he catches me watching, his beautiful face morphs from kind to cruel in an instant.

“Don’t mistake basic decency for kindness, Omega,” he warns. “I just don’t want you to puke and ruin my breakfast. I don’t give a shit about you.”

I bite my lip to keep it from trembling. His words shouldn’t hurt as badly as they do. It’s my own fault. For one brief second, I thought… I hoped…

It doesn’t matter. I was wrong.

I force my eyes away from him and search desperately for something else to focus on.

There. The butter seems safe. At the very least, it won’t glare at me.

“Hey!”

A fist slams down in front of me, and I recoil, water splashing over the glass and onto my hands and dress.

Everyone turns their attention to Cage, including me.

He’s halfway out of his seat, that cruel scowl plastered on his face. It takes me a moment to realize that while I was sinking into my own thoughts, Cage had been speaking.

And I hadn’t been listening.

“Do I have your attention now, princess?” He mocks, and I nod frantically.

My silence is starting to feel like a bruise these males can poke at will.

“Don’t worry, little liar, we don’t pay much attention to him, either.” Silas’s voice is filled with mocking laughter, but I can tell if it’s aimed at Cage or me.

Maybe both.

I lock my jaw to stop from pointing out that ‘little liar’ isn’t my name. I hate when they call me that. It’s spiteful, and it implies I’ve done something I haven’t.

Besides, to be a liar, I’d first have to get a full thought out without being interrupted.

“Just get on with it,” Vae mutters.

Cage’s expression turns into something dangerously angry, then disappears so fast, I wonder if I imagined it.

When he smiles at me, I forget about it completely.

“I’ve decided that you can have food once you answer some questions.”

I was right. His smile is the same as my father’s when he’s about to do something that only he will enjoy.

“Vae and Silas have a lot they want to know about what happened the other night, and as you mentioned, you’re hungry.” Cage leans back in his chair, arms outstretched. My stomach clenches with nerves.

“What better way for you all to get what you want?”

Chapter 25