Page 23 of Empress of Ruin
Except it is, and she is. Five or six tables away, I recognize Annalise’s blonde hair. She looks vibrant as ever, and my chest tightens with a sudden, violent ache that robs me of all breath. Out of all the people I left behind, I’ve missed her the most. I wanted to reach out to her hundreds of times, but I knew Killian would probably be monitoring her in case I went that route.
“I financed your escape from the states. We formed the threads of a relationship when we were together. When that AI video came out, I kindly helped you get away, and helped you come back once the dust settled.” Killian’s words catch me so off-guard, I gape at him. He leans forward, staring at me very seriously. “That is the story you will tell. If there is any other, your friend—the one you also abandoned—won’t live to see the end of the day.”
He's profoundly, unaccountably cruel. “She won’t come over here.” Iprayshe won’t come over here, for both our sakes.
But, because the universe seems to abhor my existence, the next time I glance at Annalise, I find her staring at me. Wide-eyed. Slack-jawed, as if she’s seen a ghost. Her gaze very slowly flits from me to Killian, and her brows slam down. She is the picture of indignant confusion as she stands from her table—where she’s sitting with a well-dressed man somewhere in his thirties—and storms right up to mine.
“What—the—fuck,” she hisses at me.
“Anna.” I attempt a useless, wobbly smile. “It’s good to see you.”
Chapter Ten
Killian
This is a complication I didn’t account for. Rookie mistake on my end. I assumed that anyone I recognized in an establishment like this would be a business associate, ally, adversary, or enemy. All people whoshouldsee Lyra with me and get the message; I’ve claimed her, she’s mine, and anyone who touches her will die a fantastically painful and drawn-out death.
I didn’t consider that someoneLyraknows might be here. Now, I either hope that Lyra sticks to the script I gave her and heeds my threat, or I’ll need to find a way to contain Annalise by force. Which would alienate me from Carter, who has a strange fixation on her.
“Good to see me?” Annalise is indignant. “Good to fucking see me?Bitch, you fell off the face of the fucking earth! I thought you weredead.Imourned you.How—”
“Anna.” Lyra stands from her seat. “Please. Let me explain?”
Every muscle in my body tenses. This is the make it or break it moment. Lyra will already hate me once Carter starts on whatever sordid plans he has for the blonde and Lyra finds out I sanctioned him to do whatever he wanted. She will probably try to kill me if I directly hurt Anna.
So, for my Little Bird’s sake, I hope her sense wins out over her pride.
“You have thirty seconds before I bitch slap you,” Anna hisses.
My eyebrow twitches. If she puts her hands onmyLyra, I will retaliate. I don’t care if she’s a woman, or a friend. Nobody touches Lyra and gets away with it.
“The tape.” Lyra’s voice is lower, just loud enough for me and Anna to hear. “That AI bullshit was made up by one of Killian’s adversaries, someone who thought we were together.”
Anna’s expression softens, but only just. Meanwhile, I glare at Lyra. She better stick to our fucking script, or else a spanking is the veryleastthat I’m going to do to her when we get home.
“We weren’ttogether,exactly, but something had started… building between us.”
My eyebrow almost twitches. I never knew my Little Bird was such a good liar. She’s so convincing,Imight believe her, if I didn’t see the slight tremble in her hands.
Anna’s frown eases a bit more. “Okay…”
“God, it was fucking mortifying, Anna. I needed to get away, and he,” she waves in my general direction, “…helpedme.”
Her tone wavers on the word helps, but if Ana notices, she doesn’t say anything.
“I sent in my resignation and fled. I needed to be out of the public eye for a good long while.”
“Why didn’t you reach out to me?” Anna’s tone is wavering, too. There’s still suspicion in her eyes, but a deep sadness overshadows it. “And why are you withhim?”
“I literally got back yesterday. I didn’t reach out to you… because I wasembarrassed.”
My god, Lyra really is an incredible actress. I file that away for later consideration; it could prove to be problematic for me.
“Why would you be embarrassed if it was fake?”
“Because it looked real enough,” Lyra reasons. “Fuck, you don’t know what it was like, Anna.”
Anna pauses at that. “Yeah. It couldn’t have felt good. But you should’vetalkedto me. You know I’ll always be on your side. I could’ve helped you.”
