Requiem of the Soul (The Society Trilogy #1) - Natasha Knight Page 0,52

fuck do you think you’re doing?"

"I'm looking after our best interests," she chokes out. "You are letting her get to you already. Giving her that suite. The dress. The ring. This manor. She should be locked in a basement with nothing more than the shame of her family name to keep her warm."

I shove her away with a snarl. "How easily you forget your place."

"My place is beside you, as your equal." She rubs at her throat. "We are De La Rosas. Our blood is stronger than any other. That is why you survived, Santi. So you could lead. And I am here to help you."

"You are here to get in my way."

I pace the length of the floor, conflicted.

Perhaps Mercedes is right. I am letting Ivy get to me. I can see how she might draw such a conclusion, given the luxuries bestowed upon my wife already. But I have a plan, and I trust that will not alter. It is not for my sister to question me, and I must make that clear to her now.

"Betray me again, and you will not like the consequences," I say. "For now, you can accept your punishment graciously."

"Punishment?" She stares at me incredulously.

I seize her Gucci wallet and cell phone from the computer desk and pocket them.

She lunges for me, an expression of horror on her face. "No! You can't do this to me."

"You can have them back when you've shown some contrition for a change. Perhaps it will do you good."

Her jaw sets, and already I can see her plotting her revenge.

"Don't do anything stupid, Mercedes," I warn her menacingly. "You won't like the results if you test my patience further."

19

Santiago

Ivy is finishing up the light meal Antonia provided her when I return to her room. A fresh set of candles burns at her bedside, and it's brighter than the last time I saw her.

The gash on her head looks worse than before, and it bothers me more than I’d like.

"Tell me about the cut." I glance down at her. “How did it happen?”

She wipes her hands with a napkin and then folds it over the tray. Her eyes are cast down, and I can tell she's still trying to keep her secrets. But I will not allow it, and she should already be aware of this.

"Ivy." My voice is a warning, but my fingers are soft as they graze the back of her neck.

"I stumbled and fell."

Almost immediately, I contribute this to the faintness Antonia mentioned earlier. But then I remember the bruises on her body. And her reluctance to answer for them as well. She blamed them on the doctor, another matter I have yet to contend with. Though I suspect there is more to it than that.

"Why did you stumble and fall?"

She toys with the hem of the black silk nightgown I purchased for her. "Because I do that sometimes."

In the soft light, she looks more vulnerable than I've ever seen her. Perhaps this is the reason I find myself tilting her face up, so I can study that emotion and try to understand it.

"You can have no secrets from me." I pet her face beneath my palm, and she closes her eyes with a soft shudder. "We can do this the hard way or the easy way. The choice is yours."

"I have vestibular dysfunction," she admits reluctantly. "Sometimes, I get dizzy. Blurry vision. It can affect my balance. It’s a defect I can’t control."

I consider her words carefully, focusing on the term defect she chose with obvious disdain. She believes she is defective. Her eye, and now this. It brings me a strange sense of satisfaction to know this about her. The intimacy of her secret and the realization she is ashamed of it are both a balm to my own scars. But they shouldn't be.

My fingers fall away, and she peeks up at me.

"We'll have to be more careful with you then," I answer ominously. "I didn't realize you were quite so... breakable."

Her eyes harden, and I leave her to stew in her anger as I retreat to her bathroom, gathering the supplies I need. When I return, she is still sitting at the small table, staring down at the hands tangled together in her lap.

"It's time to clean your tattoo," I inform her.

She straightens her spine and tries to glance back at me as I step beside her and drape her hair over one shoulder. She shivers, and I turn her chin away from