about being able to feel Kyros’s emotions was that I knew his ire hadn’t abated one single bit. That made it very hard for mine to fade.
Only in the last hour had I made any sort of dint in my anger.
Sure, I’d known Kyros wouldn’t like it if I went into Gingers. I’d banked on him losing control—but not like that.
That was… terrifying. A long time had passed since I’d been scared of him to that degree. I got a glimpse at what other vampires and humans saw when they looked at him.
And I felt terrible that Laurel had borne the brunt of his anger.
Maybe if the entire club of Vissimo turned on me, my Indebted and Kyros wouldn’t have been able to save me. And yes, Gina picked that particular time and venue knowing it would knock him off his game.
Yet I couldn’t regret the move because I’d gone there about my grandmother.
Gina would dig into the triplets’ movements on my behalf. That was a victory. I wanted to know that my grandmother had died of natural causes more than anything. If the triplets had visited her that night, then I needed to know too. Regardless, my grandmother’s heart wouldn’t have been anywhere near as stressed if she hadn’t led the life she had against the clans.
Both were to blame. Just as much as my grandmother’s revolutionary spirit that wouldn’t allow her to roll over when she’d discovered the truth.
The door burst open and Kyros’s siblings poured into the room. Leaning against the bench as I sipped my water, I closed my eyes and opened them again.
They didn’t disappear.
Neelan shut the door, avoiding my gaze.
“What did you do to Kyros?” Lalitta hushed, her eyes rounded.
She thought I was the bad guy. Yeah, I pushed his buttons, but there was no excuse for how handsy and shouty and downright mean he got. I had bruises on my arms from his grip. Just like fucking Clint gave me. “None of your business.”
Safina strode forward. “If it affects the game, then yes, it’s our business.”
I met her cool gaze. “Then ask your brother.”
“He left the tower immediately after the video call with Father,” Neelan murmured, glancing at me.
“Guess that means I can leave too.” I gulped back my water and set the glass in the sink. Turning, I blinked at the wall of royals blocking me.
Deirdre’s fangs descended. “If our brother put you here, only our brother can release you.”
My anger was wearing off. I was tired. It had to be nearly 4:00 a.m.
“Looks like I’m staying the night,” I said, unzipping my heels and kicking them off. I padded into the bathroom, looking around for supplies to remove my make-up. I was sure it looked a mess by now anyway.
Soaking a blue flannel in hot water, I scrubbed at the layers on my face, rinsing and repeating until my normal self was showing once more. I glared at her for looking so young and incapable. I steamed my face with a hot flannel and splashed cold water over my skin, patting dry with a fluffy white towel.
I eyed the shower and listened to the tense murmurs of Kyros’s siblings. Shower it was. Locking the door, I started the shower, setting it to scalding.
I tied my hair in a knot, not having a hair tie, and stepped under the hot jets.
My shoulders relaxed as I sighed.
That felt fucking good.
In no hurry to rejoin the royals, I stood that way for several minutes before reaching for the soap. It wasn’t as meditative as my usual routine, but I repeated the soaping twice to drag out the shower even longer.
Rinsing, I tuned into Kyros, blanching at what I felt.
Pain, fear, loneliness, regret, anger.
Felt like he was calming down at last, but I was still angry enough to be glad he felt like shit, so maybe it was a good thing Kyros had left the tower for a while.
I reluctantly turned off the shower and dried, slipping into the same clubbing clothes. My rabbit onesie would be ideal—or Kyros’s loungewear drawer—but I didn’t feel right about delving into his stuff after the shit between us.
And there was a lot of shit.
Where did it start and where did it end? Half the time I couldn’t even remember what I was angry about. There was just so damn much. Him doing things to me. Me doing things to him. His family doing things to both of us. Fyrlia throwing obstacles into the mix.
I hadn’t infiltrated Kyros Sky