The Breaking (The Curse of the Regina Book 1)

by A. P. Marie

  He snakes his arm around my body and pulls me to him. To the uninformed observer, we would look like lovers right now, and for the first time, his touch doesn’t make me want to throw up. Not because I have begun to like it, but because this time, I know I am in complete control of our interaction.

  Standing chest to chest and nose to nose with Cam, I let him lower his face to my neck and rub his nose sensuously along the length of my neck.

  “And what exactly should I have been evaluating you for?” He murmurs against the sensitive skin on my neck.

  Relishing every single second, I lean close enough to brush my lips against the shell of his ear as I whisper, “This.”

  I immediately take control of his entire body, freezing him to the spot. I can sense the fear that nearly overwhelms his system and I realize I could stop that to. I won’t. I like the fear running through his veins like oil. Stepping back, I shake my head and tsk sadly at him.

  “It didn’t have to be this way, you know. We never should have gotten to this point.” His emotions are whirling a million miles an hour, rotating between confusion, fear, anger, and denial. I taste each one before he jumps to the next.

  “You should have left well enough alone. You were doing pretty well for yourself. Had you left me alone, you could continue on.” Frustration surges through him and I realize that he wants to talk, so I free his mouth while leaving everything else frozen.

  “What’s your plan here? You’re in my house, surrounded by my men. Even with this little parlor trick you have, you’ll never make it out of here.” Anger laces his words, but the widening of his eyes belies the truth. This isn’t a parlor trick and he know it.

  “Maybe. Or maybe my little parlor trick is stronger than you think, and I have taken control of every human in this house.” I shrug nonchalantly, reinforcing the idea that I don’t care whether he believes me or not. But in this case, I really don’t care whether he believes me. I give zero fucks about Cam or what he thinks of me.

  He laughs in response to my words and I can see that the idea is so absurd to him that he isn’t even consider it as a possibility.

  “Either way, we need to have a little chat here, Cam. Because, the reality is I don’t want to kill you. I want you to stay the fuck away from me, and I’m willing to make sure that happens. So, what’s it going to take?”

  “What could you possibly give me that I don’t already have or couldn’t take for myself?” Arrogance leaks from every aspect of his being.

  “Your life isn’t good enough?” I ask, and I freeze his lungs for just a few seconds. Just long enough for him to see that I can. “No. I guess it wouldn’t be. Good thing I have a backup. You see, while you thought I was being a good little doll and doing everything you asked of me, I may have learned a thing or two. And maybe one of those things can convince you to stay away from me.”

  I twirl a strand of my hair around my finger and walk slowly around Cam, so he can no longer see me. My thoughts flashing to raised voices, fingers walking slowly across a desk, and an old book on a dark night.

  Cam scoffs, “Whatever you think you know isn’t worth shit. I haven’t told you anything that matters.” He’s telling the truth; he knows he hasn’t said anything in front of me.

  This time I giggle.

  “No, of course you didn’t, silly. These things didn’t come from you.” I walk back around so I’m facing Cam. “You wouldn’t tell me about how you killed your predecessor. I had to figure that out on my own.” I give him my best fuck you smile as I watch the blood drain from his face.

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Lie. The words are barely discernible as he forces them through his teeth. The smile that breaks across my face is so big, my cheeks hurt.

  “Maybe your right. But I’ve noticed some pretty interesting things. For instance, I noticed something odd in the library one day. I just happened to be standing next to your desk and I saw some invoices for the property. It appears that last year you made several different orders for castor beans. You made the order. Not the cook. Or the owner. Not even the gardner.”

  Had I not been in control of Cam’s body I would not have noticed any difference. But as it stands, the increase in his heart rate, the control he is using to keep his breathing measured. It all confirms my thoughts.

  “So? The kitchen must have needed some and asked me to order it. I was in charge of this house long before my predecessor died.” He tries to play it off like it doesn’t matter but we both spot the lie.

  “Maybe not. I certainly didn’t think anything about it. Not until I heard some people talking one day. About how the leader of the fallen died after a long, drawn out illness. Poor thing, seemed like he was really sick.” I cluck my tongue and shake my head, like I feel any real sympathy for a man I never met.

  Cam’s eyes widen marginally, before he answers, “What does any of this have to do with me?” Cam never told me what he did, and he probably didn’t expect I would figure it out. His bad.

  He probably doesn’t even remember telling me about the last owner of the house during that first dinner. He just mentioned it in passing. No doubt he never expected me to remember it weeks later, and recognize it as the name of the fallen leader mentioned in the history book he gave me.

  “Castor beans contain ricin, Cam. In the right doses, they cause severe illness and sometimes even death.” I don’t even need any reactions from Cam to confirm my beliefs. I know exactly what happened here before my arrival.

  “You killed your leader. Probably waited until you had enough of the fallen Nephilim families under your thumb and you could count on your succession, but you couldn’t kill him outright. It would raise too many questions. So, you added castor beans to his food, maybe ground them up in his drink, and you poisoned him slowly and painfully.” I can feel his fear as it reaches unimaginable heights.

  “No one will believe you. Whatever you hope to gain by spouting these lies, it won’t work.” Cam’s voice comes out angry and scared.

  “I don’t plan on telling anyone. I really can’t imagine any of the fallen would take kindly to the man who killed their leader. What’s the point in stirring all of that up?” I shrug and confusion enters Cam’s eyes. “What I want is to leave here and never see you again. I’m sure we can work something out.”

  Cam’s eyes dart all around the room. He’s clearly thinking over his options and I can only hope that he comes to the right conclusion.

  “Come on, Cam. What is there to think about? If you keep me here and somehow force me to complete the mating with you, you become King. But that’s a lot of ifs. I know that Tyler has been taking my blood. I know that you have been trying to complete the first ritual, without luck. What if that never happens? Then you get nothing. All the while I stay in this house, surrounded by your men, and what if I accidentally slip and mention some of what I know to them? Then you lose everything.” He doesn’t look convinced yet, so I continue. “But if you let me go, you can continue to lead the fallen. You can continue living this cushy life, with no changes. If I never see you again, I won’t ever have a reason to talk to any fallen Nephilim about what I know.”

  I learned that mating rituals must be completed in order. Cam could not force me to complete the second ritual, until the first one was complete. That’s how I realized that Tyler must have been taking my blood so Cam could try and complete the first mating ritual. The blood must be burning red because of my bond with Caiden and Zander. He was waiting for that bond to fade enough that he could complete the rituals and become King.

  I could kill Cam now, but I have never been a murderer. Even as much as Cam has done to me, I don’t think I can cross that line now. My time under Queen’s control only proved that. I can only pray that he agrees to let me walk away, and that he never tries to find me again.

  “Cam, I just want to go home. You will gain nothing by keeping me. My bond will not break. Let me leave, don’t follow me. We never have to see each other aga
in.” I’m desperate for him to listen. I’m desperate for him to let me go, but I won’t let him know that.

  The thoughts flicking across his mind change so fast that I struggle to keep track, but he at least seems to recognize that the only way to get out of this room is to let me go, or at least to let me think he is letting me go.

  “Fine. Release me from your control and I will walk you out of the house.” I can smell the deceit even without my gift.

  “I need your word that you will not follow me or look for me.” Amusement trickles across his thoughts, but he schools it to answer me.

  “You have my word. I will not follow you or search for you.” Everything about his statement is a lie. He intends to find me again, but he will let me get out of the house first. And that’s all I need.

  I think again of the book I hid in the kitchen. The genealogy book. Hopefully, it makes it into the right hands and provides me an extra level of protection after I leave here.

  I walk back over to Cam and pat his cheek like an old grandmother would her grandchild. “I truly hope you do, Cam. I truly do.”

  I tap back into Tyler’s mind and order him to open the door. Keeping everyone else in the hallway frozen, I walk with my head up as I leave that basement room for the last time, never even looking back at Cam.

  I keep Tyler by me all the way through the house. I could control everyone in the house, but as long as Tyler is with me, I don’t think I’ll need to. Sure enough, Tyler is able to walk me right out the front door, and no one bats an eye.

  Chapter 20

  Sweet Freedom

  Had I thought about what would happen after I left the house, I would have expected a struggle. I would have said that Cam’s men would be chasing me, and I would have to run for my life.

  The reality is quite different. I ordered Tyler to go back down to the cell and lock the door, the still frozen Cam inside. Obviously, I know that that won’t last forever, but it buys me enough time that I don’t feel like I’m in a race for my life.

  I also would have expected it would take me a long time to find my way back to Zander. I don’t know where I am, or even where Zander’s house is. When the large gates at the end of the driveway swing open, I thank the guards for helping me, even though they had no choice in the matter.

  Then I use my other sense to search the area. All I can see are trees in every direction, but soon I start feeling little spots of heat that I know must be people. Running through the woods, I avoid all of Cam’s security personnel with ease. It’s almost too easy.

  After about 30 minutes of dodging personnel, I notice a heat spot far off to my left that feels different. Warmer. The spot is moving away from me and on instinct I follow it.

  I follow him for several miles, down deer trails, and through squiggly, looping patterns until I sense a mass of heat spots up ahead. The man that I am trailing has led me straight to them.

  I can tell without searching that these are Zander’s men. Not the whole of the army that I saw in the premonition, but maybe a scouting party. Or maybe they were just the first unit to get here and get set up.

  This must be what Cam was in such a mood about this morning. He knew Zander and his men were on their way, and he had to prepare for war.

  I can’t imagine my presence is going to go over well if I just go waltzing into a war camp. As lightly as I can, I touch each of the minds as I near them. Not enough to control them wholly, just enough to convince them that they don’t see anything. Even as I walk right in front of these soldiers, they see no one.

  In the middle of the camp, there is a huge tent set up. It’s tall enough that men could stand to their full height inside and wide enough that it could easily hold 30 or more men. Knowing that the most important people here are probably in that tent, I make that my destination. Stepping lightly around the talking soldiers, I walk right up to the flap of the tent, my fingers have just brushed the edge of the flap when I hear a voice that makes me throw all common sense to the side and rush into the tent.

  Caiden. My eyes connect with his as his entire face goes completely blank. Like a short-circuiting robot. Feeling a tug in my chest, I finally tear my eyes away from Caiden to the man standing behind him. Zander.

  Finally, the tightness in my chest releases and I let out a shuddering breath. Zander and Caiden are both staring at me like they’ve seen a ghost, and I can’t even blame them. These last few weeks apart have been the most difficult weeks of my life, and for large parts of that time, I was convinced that I would never see these men again.

  Caiden is in front of me before I even see him move, his long fingers wiping tears that I didn’t know I was crying.

  “Caiden…” his name comes out on a choked sob as I fold myself into his arms.

  Zander comes behind me and wraps me in his arms. With Zander’s chest against my back and Caiden’s arms around me, I cannot think of a place I would rather be.

  “How is this possible?” Zander’s words are whispered in my ear as his arms tighten around my middle.

  “It’s a long story.” And it will take even longer to tell if I can’t stop sobbing.

  I look up to Caiden to see tears silently running down his face as well. They deserve the story, and as soon as I can manage. Looking around for somewhere we can sit comfortably I realize that the tent has emptied out. Where before, there were men everywhere, now it is only Caiden, Zander, and I.

  “You’re going to want to sit down.” Caiden nods and scoops me up against his chest, carrying me over to a makeshift seating area in two strides. He sits down with me in his lap and Zander sits down right in front of us, his knees nearly brushing Caiden’s.

  Thinking back to the last few weeks is difficult, and I know talking about it will be even harder. But it is clear that Zander and Caiden were as affected by my absence as I was. They deserve to know what happened; I just have to be strong enough to tell them.

  “When I left you guys in the gym, I went to walk in the garden outside my room…”

  ∞∞∞

  Over the course of the next few hours, I tell them everything. I don’t leave out the hard bits, or the confusing bits. So much has already happened that I can’t stand the idea of their being anything between us.

  I tell them about the training room and Tyler. I tell them about the books and what I learned. I tell them about my kisses with Cam and how I played along with his sick little game. I tell them about my premonition and about Queen. I tell them about my plan and my escape. When I get to the information that I learned about Cam and his rise to power, both men gape at me like fish.

  Caiden never moves from underneath me. Zander on the other hand, can’t stay still. Sometimes he stalks around, sometimes he holds my hand. Sometimes he stares at the plain, beige walls of the tent and it’s hard to tell if he is listening at all. But he is. I know that he is, because I can feel him.

  Having both Caiden and Zander in the same room has confirmed something that I had begun to suspect while I was with Cam. One of the books that I read mentioned that there are three different types of bonds that can form from the mating rituals. The couple either bonds physically, mentally, or emotionally. You can normally tell which bond type you have developed based on what connection you form with your mate.

  When I saw that, I knew immediately that I had bonded with Zander physically. Our entire relationship has been physical. He puts my body at ease while also setting it on fire. Even now, when I can feel him, I realize it is his body that I feel. His heartbeat, his pain, his stress. His physical person.

  My bond with Caiden on the other hand, is emotional. I can feel his emotions as easily as if they were my own. I feel him- his sadness, his guilt, his relief- in my chest. It’s probably why I was able to just think of him as a friend for so long. He sets my soul at ease, and while I am attracted to him, he doesn’t have the same irresistible urge that Zander makes me feel.

  That was how I finally realized that all of the bursts of emotions I had bee
n receiving while I was with Cam were from Caiden and not Zander. Nothing about my relationship with Zander had ever been emotional, but with Caiden it was entirely emotional. Those emotions zipping down the connection never felt anything like Zander, because they weren’t.

  But where does that leave me? The book was clear that a Regina had to pick a mate. That her mate will become King. But how do I deny one half of myself? I feel such a draw to Zander that I cannot stay away from him, but Caiden is my soul mate. How on earth could I ever choose between them?

  Zander pulls me out of my inner turmoil, when he stands suddenly and says, “We keep with the plan. When the army is fully assembled, we will march on Cam’s home.”

  I can feel that Caiden is torn by Zander’s decision. He wants to protect me and eliminating Cam is the best way to do that, but he also knows that marching on Cam’s home will be seen as an act of war against he fallen Nephilim. This will be the beginning of a war.

  “I don’t think that will be necessary.” I try not to sound to smug, but I can’t hide it entirely.

  “Em, your plan was good enough to get you out, but Cam will come looking for you. We can’t let him find you again. Even if you weren’t our mate, we would protect you as the Regina.” It feels weird to hear him openly referring to something he had been trying to hide from me, but I brush that aside.

  “I think Cam is going to be a little busy for the foreseeable future.” When they both look at me in confusion I decide to go on. “Did you know that the last leader was having an open affair with his cook? Apparently, Burris and his mate never got along, and they both took lovers separately. Burris just so happens to have fallen in love with his. She was his cook, but because of her status as his mistress, she holds quite a bit of clout with many of the fallen.”

  “I knew he and his mate were estranged but taking lovers outside of your mating is almost unheard of. I never knew anything about that.” Zander says, watching me like he wants to take me apart to see how I tick.