Total pages in book: 52
Estimated words: 49388 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 247(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49388 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 247(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
As I stare at the sea, the water shimmers, blue and clear, reminding me of my mother eyes. When I was growing up, everyone told me how much I looked like her. Now all I want to do is forget the resemblance exists.
The pain of learning my mother had died was excruciating for me as a young boy, but the agony of seeing her alive again, almost ten years later, was far worse. She faked her own death so she could be with my father’s brother, a man I hate. A man who was meant to be my guardian but left me to fend for myself.
I can’t begin to comprehend why she did it, but I wish she’d never come back. If she’d died in that car accident, I wouldn’t have to deal with this pain in my chest every time I think about her living, breathing, and loving Thane.
It turns out my uncle is even more ruthless than Abner, and he’s convinced the world owes him everything.
A cold shudder races through me at the thought of Thane being named a Crown and having to sit at the table with him. I know it’s what he wants. The rules have changed since we took our seats as Crowns of the Gilded Sovereign, but Ares, Etienne, Philipe, and I will never willingly give Thane that honor.
I’m nowhere near as fucked up as my uncle, but the fear I could one day turn into a tyrant like him is one of the reasons I’m wary of taking an active role in the secret society.
I still don’t know the full story, but without getting his hands dirty, my uncle managed to ensure I was left parentless, or so I thought until my mother reappeared, alive and well.
My uncle returned to Tynewood, expecting there would be a place for him in the Sovereign, but he hadn’t banked on me taking my rightful seat at the table. I know he wants what I have. He wants a Crown, but he fucked that up when he got rid of my father. He should’ve killed me, instead.
When I finally track my uncle down, I’m going to make sure he gives me every single bit of information I need, and after he does, I’m going to make sure he pays for what he did to my father.
As a Crown, I know if I need help, I can call on Etienne and Ares, even Philipe. But as much as I want to be with my brothers, I can’t. Not until I finish what Thane’s started. This is something I have to do on my own.
Glancing over my shoulder, I find Grecia watching me, and I’m reminded I’m not completely alone.
I left Tynewood because I needed space, but when Grecia followed me out here, she gave me something I wasn’t expecting—solace. I may not have taken the next step and slept with her, but it doesn’t mean I don’t want to, and I’m not sure I’ll be able to resist her for much longer.
Every time my gaze locks with hers, a magnetic spark passes between us, and I can’t stop the filthy thoughts that run through my mind. But there’s a line I’m trying not to cross with her, so instead, I lose myself in the company of other women, night after night.
Now I’m getting closer to finding Thane, I’m torn between sending Grecia home, which would be the right thing to do, or keeping her here with me, which would be the wrong thing to do but also the thing I want the most.
The truth is I’m an asshole. I come from a long line of assholes. Doing what’s right isn’t in my nature, and this time’s no different. I’m a selfish bastard and crave Grecia’s company. I know I’ll end up breaking her, just as life has torn me apart. But even with that knowledge, there’s no way I’m letting her go.
CHAPTER 2
TARIAN
A whole day has passed in a whirl, working on our laptops to try to pinpoint my uncle’s whereabouts. Yet nothing has come up.
The tranquility of the island has helped me reset the shit that’s been going on in my head since I found out my mother is still alive. I needed space and time to think, to breathe, and I know I could never have done that while in Tynewood, not with my parents’ secrets coming to light and the shitstorm Thane left behind.
At the same time my mother returned from the dead, I learned my uncle is Rukaiya’s father. I’m hoping Heinrich can help me find her biological mother. I want to give Rukaiya closure because not only is she Etienne’s girlfriend, she’s also family. And since we changed the rules of the Sovereign, she’s been given a place at the table as a Crown.