Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 90268 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 451(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90268 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 451(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
I chuckled, trying to sit up. “I love you too.”
She rolled her eyes, inhaling a deep breath. In three strides, she was trying to help me, but I shoved her hands away.
“Okay, Macho Man, at least drink some of this water.”
I leaned against the headboard of my bed, hissing upon contact. She placed the straw in my mouth, and I gulped down half the bottle. Dehydrated was an understatement.
Once I finished, I eased her worry. “I’m fine.”
“Fine?” she argued. “You look like you just stepped out of a Medieval Dungeon.”
“Great, I’ll add it to my résumé.”
“This is not fucking funny, Onyx! It’s not funny at all, and the fact that you’re treating it as a joke is just as disturbing!”
I sighed, leaning my head back. “Can you stop fucking screaming at me? My head is pounding.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “You weren’t even conscious when they dragged you in here, not even when the doctor fixed you up.”
“I didn’t need a doctor. You couldn’t stitch me up.”
Her eyes went wide. “I almost passed out when I saw your back, Onyx.”
Caspian chimed in, “Eh, I’ve seen worse.”
She glared at him while he smiled at me.
“Would you like me to bring you a nurse?” he implied.
“First off.” She pointed right at Caspian. “You’re a fucking idiot! And second off.” She pointed right at me now. “You need to stop proving whatever the hell you think you are before you get fucking killed!”
“They’re not going to kill, Deja,” I countered. “I’m a legacy.”
“That’s never stopped them before.”
“Deja—”
“Don’t Deja me! You cannot talk your way out of this one, Onyx. What happened? Why did they do this to you? What did you do?”
I stared at the ceiling, debating what to share with her. “I kissed someone.”
Her face fell. “You what? Since when do you kiss anyone, and why does that matter?”
“It matters because of who she is.”
Her eyes narrowed in on me. “Hennessy?”
I looked at her.
“They did this because you kissed Hennessy? And the council knew?”
“That’s why they called me in.”
“So they fucking whipped you for that?”
I stared at her.
“You took a lashing for this girl?”
Again, I just stared at her.
“What. In. The. 1800s. Did I just walk into?”
“Deja—”
“No! You lost privileges to speak now!” She sat beside me on the bed, grabbing my hand. “You need to listen to me… okay? Promise me you’re going to listen.”
“I can’t listen if I’m talking to you.”
She growled in frustration. “You need to stay away from her. You getting beat to death is not on the itinerary, okay?”
“Don’t be so dramatic.”
“Dramatic?” She threw my hand at me. “Fuck. You. Onyx!”
“You really need to work on your bedside manner, little sister.”
She abruptly stood. “I’m so done with you!” She pointed at Caspian again. “And especially you!”
He held his arms in the air. “What the fuck did I do?”
“Nothing! You did exactly nothing, and now my brother looks like Frankenstein!”
He gestured to me. “Oh, come on, he’s never looked better. He’ll have all these wicked scars now. Chicks love that shit.”
Her mouth dropped open. “He’s been unconscious for thirty-six hours, you dick!”
He shrugged, gesturing to me again. “And look, now he’s awake.”
I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped my throat.
Deja flung around, seething at me, “Are you laughing? You think this is a joke?”
“You standing here yelling at me isn’t helping me heal, dear sister.”
She chuckled despite herself. “You two are unbelievable.”
“See…” Caspian remarked, “You’re laughing. Chicks dig scars.”
“Caspian!” she chastised.
“What?” he grumbled. “I’m trying to find the silver lining.”
“Which is what?”
He beamed, glancing at me with a dumbass expression. “Our boy’s got his first crush…” In a high-pitched tone, he bit, “It’s so cute…”
“You both are fucking idiots!” With that, she spun around and left.
“Finally,” I breathed out when she slammed the door behind her.
His demeanor changed abruptly, and Caspian sighed. “She’s got a point, though.”
“If you’re going to ride my ass too, there’s the door.”
He dramatically set his hand on his chest. “After everything I did for you?”
As if on cue, there was a knock on my door.
“And there’s your nurse now.”
I arched an eyebrow.
“You may enter!” he called out.
The person I least expected walked through the door.
“Special delivery.” Caspian smiled wide, gesturing to her. “Your Amazon Princess, motherfucker. You’re welcome.”
If I weren’t already sitting down, this might’ve knocked me on my ass.
Hennessy
When Caspian called me last night, I was confused about how he got my number, but that quickly changed as soon as he announced, “Onyx is unconscious.”
My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach. “What happened?”
“He was punished.”
“What do you mean? What did he do?”
“Well, for starters, he’s lost his mind over you.”
“Over me?” I exclaimed, surprised.
“That’s what I said.”
Feeling instantly defensive, I asked, “What did I do?”
“You’re here,” was all she stated.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means that my boy is going to get his dick chopped off if he doesn’t keep it in his pants for you.”