She laughed and kept going on her triumphant rant. “What’s it like, though? Are you all stretched out? It must be pretty loose down there, hey?”
“Don’t be disgusting,” I hissed at her, willing her to fuck off so we could eat. Not that I completely trusted the food, I could see Avery hawking a big spit bomb into anything she delivered.
“I’m not being disgusting. I’m being honest. I’m sure a lot of people think about it. They’re just too chickenshit to ask. What about you, Amara? Haven’t you ever wondered if she’s flapping in the wind when she walks?”
“You are being foul-minded,” Amara said as she bristled. “I don’t think about it because it’s none of my business. Besides, I know how Maksim treats his women, so if you are banging your own cousin, then I’m sure you’ve had more than a few things used on you as well, Avery.”
Amara made a fist and jerked it in an upward motion.
Avery’s face bunched up into a dark scowl at that, and she shook her head.
“I should take this food back and give it to the dogs,” she said. “But I won’t. I’m generous that way.”
It was as if somebody flipped a switch. She went from nasty and angry to bright and fake friendly. She pushed the cart all the way into the room, and the scent of the food hit my stomach like a hammer.
Fuck, I was hungry.
“How are they?” I asked her now that she seemed more amicable.
“Who?” she asked, but she knew.
“My Kings,” I said quietly, keeping my rage calm.
She smirked. It was the smallest smile, just a flash of smug self-satisfaction across her face, but it ruined me. It broke me apart and left a howling emptiness inside my heart. She knew something about them, and she knew everything there was about my Kings. She knew every moment of their lives from the second they were taken from me. And she wasn’t going to tell me any of it.
I was so fucking angry with her. I calculated my odds of tipping over the cart and pushing past her, escaping this luxurious cage, and flying downstairs to find my Kings. I wanted to find them so I could run back to Fincross Academy or our Oakville house. I wanted to hide out forever, forget the real world, and exist in some sort of otherworld where nothing could hurt us and nothing could ever tear us apart.
But the moment my eyes flicked to the hallway past her, a dark shape appeared, and I stepped into the doorway.
I looked up and found a tall, incredibly handsome man staring down at me with a cold, calculated expression. As if he owned me and was assessing the object he’d just purchased. I knew who he was before he even opened his mouth to speak his name.
“Everly,” he said and offered a smile that chilled my soul. “I’m Maksim. We’re going to be married soon.”
“The fuck we are,” I glowered, and he threw his head back and laughed.
He was almost cherubic. Not fat, his face was lean and angled, but it was framed with perfect golden curls. His eyes were a startling blue, pale and clear and not at all what I expected. They were like Amara had said, empty. Devoid of any warmth or joy.
He was tall, but I was pretty sure he wasn’t taller than any of my Kings. In fact, he wasn’t as muscular or strong as them either. They could kick his ass, hand to hand. They would rip him to shreds and pound him to a pulpy mush, each one of them.
I had the immediate urge to challenge him then and there, forcing his hand and making him stand up to my Kings. Hell, I wanted to challenge him to fight me if I wasn’t so weakened by the lack of food. Fuck, just seeing his face drew passion from the depths of my soul, and not a hot sexy passion, of course, but the kind of passion that could kill a person dead with a single dark, poisoned look.
I guess what I am trying to say is that I hated him on sight. A visceral reaction that was similar to the way I’d felt about Avery.
They made the perfect couple, cousin fuckers and all.
“Oh dear, she is hilarious,” Maksim said to Avery. “You’re right, my sweet. She’s a funny one. It’s a good thing she’s fuckable, too. You told me she was ugly.”
“She is ugly,” Avery snarled. “Look at her. She’s a tubby little bitch with a face that is begging for me to slap it. Her eyes are too big, her hips are too big, her thighs are like tree trunks, and her hair is all frizzy and out of control. How is that fuckable? Punchable, yes, fuckable, no!”
I thought Avery was on the verge of a breakdown. Her voice was getting higher and higher pitched until she whined like a tea kettle. She was barely holding it together, and I have to admit, I enjoyed seeing her knocked off her high horse. She’d always come off as so superior like she was infallible and unflappable.
I decided to use this newfound knowledge to fuck with her.
“I didn’t realize Maksim would be so fuckable, too,” I said, looking over at Avery. Just saying the words made me feel ill. They left a greasy sensation in my mouth like my tongue was coated with something foul just by saying the words. “He’s cute. Why didn’t you tell me this sooner, sister dear? I would have been way happier to marry him if I’d known he was so handsome.”
To his credit, Maksim didn’t buy it, but Avery’s face went bright red, and I swear I saw tendrils of steam curling out of her ears. God, it felt good to piss her off. I didn’t care that she was in charge of me, that she held the keys to my prison door. I just wanted to hurt her as she hurt me.
“See?” Maksim said with a triumphant sweep of his hand. “I told you she would love me. Every woman loves me, from young to old. They all want a piece of Maksim. Except for Amara here.”