and upset an incision when I was being cut.
But I preferred his brutal, ruthless side much more than his creepy, stomach-roiling amorous side. I felt less vile and sullied on the inside during torture times.
Days turned into weeks. I had nothing to help me keep track of time, but I’m pretty sure about fifteen days had passed when we received another visitor.
I was on the extractor, bleeding out my lifeblood onto the map under me and trying to remember my own name.
Quilla, I finally decided.
Yes, I was Quilla. Quilla of House Graykey. And my parents had been…
My parents had been…
For the life of me, I couldn’t remember the names of my parents.
Oh well, it’d been years since they’d been alive. Maybe I could remember other people I loved. People I’d known more recently. Like the redhead.
Shit. What was her name?
She was my aunt. Yes, I remembered that. And on Earth, she was married to my other aunt—hell, I couldn’t remember her name either—but those two women had been my true parents. They’d raised me to be strong. To be a survivor. To live.
Live, a familiar voice encouraged inside my head.
The man. He’d given me the will to live.
I could picture his face. Dark hair and dancing blue eyes with the impish grin and pure heart. He’d loved me. And I…
I loved him too.
But what had his name been?
Indigo, I realized with sudden clarity. I tried to say it aloud, but nothing more than a moan emerged.
Indigo.
My one true love who’d died so I could be alive today.
I tried to say his name again.
Everett leaned down near my ear. “What was that, love?”
I cringed, hating his nearness. I loathed his voice, and his smell, his disturbing laugh, his rough hands, and his dead, dead blue eyes.
I wished he was dead.
But then he gasped and pointed at the map. “Holy shit,” he murmured. “Would you look at that?” Then he shouted. “Afton! Get over here and look at this.”
I blinked through blurry eyes and squinted until I made out red dots slowly beginning to appear on the map with names sputtering to life above them, and finally, some started to move as if they were walking around.
“It’s working,” Afton murmured in awe. “It’s actually working.”
“Of course it’s working!” Everett shook his shoulders and whooped. “It had to work. Son of a bitch, we should celebrate. We need to—go!” he ordered, shoving the younger man toward the door. “Get a jug of wine. We’re having a drink, and then we’ll send a raven to the king to report our success.”
“Yes, sir. Right away, sir.” Afton hurried out the door, slamming it shut behind him with a whoop.
“Fucking amazing,” Everett whispered, bending close to the names. “And look! Right there. Three Graykeys grouped together in Lowden. What are those names?” Squinting, he bent closer. “River, Reeva, and Rhage, huh? Damn, it looks like the Q generation’s starting to pop out babies already. Or are they yours?” His hand stroked my hip. “Hiding some children from me, are you, love?”
I swallowed, wishing I could shove his touch away.
Voice going hard, he wrapped his hand painfully around the back of my neck and squeezed. “Did you spread your legs for someone else, you fucking whore?” He sounded angry and jealous as if I’d cheated on him. “Are they my nephew’s issues? The betraying little bastard. Did he drop his seed in my Graykey cunt?”
Meaty fingers dug into the side of my throat, strangling me, just as a knock came on the door.
“Dammit,” he muttered before letting me go with a vengeful shove to the back of my head and lifting his voice. “Come in.”
The door opened and footsteps entered. Multiple footsteps. Alarm littered Everett’s voice when he cried an indignant, “Hey! You’re not Afton. Who the fuck are you people?”
“Kneel before the King of Lowden.”
“Lowden?” Sounding confused, Everett complied anyway, falling to one knee, even though he technically only served the High Cliff crown.
Even in my dazed, pain-inflicted state, I squinted, wondering what the heck King Tomrick from House Gill would be doing, coming here.
“Your Majesty,” Everett started. “This is a surprise. I wasn’t expecting a visit from—”
“Yes, I know,” interrupted an urbane voice that sounded somewhat familiar, though mostly not. “But when I heard about the little experiment you were conducting over here, I thought I’d wander over and have myself a peek. After all, I believe my kingdom would benefit most from eradicating all Graykey scum. Don’t you?”
“I’m sure you’re correct, Your Majesty. In