Page 113 of Vexatious Queen

“You can’t go back in time, none of us can, and we have to live with the choices we make. Did you send men to kill my mother?”

His face twisted.

“I sent no one. I did not know where you were.”

“You swear to me?”

Vadin stood and placed his hand on my shoulder, but I stepped back away from his touch. His hand dropped.

“Yes, I swear to you that I didn’t try to kill Yuliana.”

“Or me last summer?”

“No. Definitely, not. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

I nodded and took a steadying breath.

“As I said earlier, it’s not my forgiveness you need if you want us to have a relationship.”

“What do you mean?”

“This started with my father, and it ends with him. I’ll speak to him about our meeting and have him contact you. But if you truly want my forgiveness…then you need his first. Your actions have haunted him and deprived me of my father for fourteen years.”

Myles opened the door, and I turned to leave, but Vadin spoke, stopping me.

“What if he won’t forgive me, or kills me?”

I looked up at Nash and then over my shoulder at the man who had the nerve to call himself my grandfather.

“I am not the weak link in this chain. You can’t break me after what I have endured. You set all of this in motion, and you will face the consequences. If Edmundo Genovese, with all the pain you’ve caused him, can find it in himself to forgive you…then I’ll entertain it. But I will not beg for you. And if he kills you…then he does. Don’t show up unannounced again, or I’ll make sure Dean Henry places you on the banned list.”

I walked out with my head held high, despite the tremors rolling through my body.

“That was fucking incredible, Princess,” Nash said, softly, guiding me toward the cafeteria.

“Aye, that was…hot as fuck,” Myles said.

But even his teasing couldn’t wash away the sour taste in my mouth.

Some things in this life were unforgiveable. I was great at putting myself in others’ shoes, and as much as I could understand where he was coming from…this…I just couldn’t forgive.

On top of it all, I didn’t know what was worse—what my grandfather had done to my parents or that he hadn’t sent assassins to kill my mum and then me. At least when I thought it was him, I knew who my enemies were, but now…I was back to square one and looking at everyone like a suspect.

As we sat down at our table, I spotted Sabastian in the entryway, talking with Vadin. They looked far too casual to not have seen one another for years.

Christov had just become my top suspect.

FEBRUARY 6 – FRIDAY 6:36 PM

Liam

Iwas happier than I had been in months.

Walking into the library, I took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of books and leather. I’d never particularly liked those smells before, but tonight they made me smile. It was Friday night and quiet. Most of the students were hanging out in each other’s dorm rooms or had gone out.

But Ren…she wasn’t like anyone else, and according to Nash, she had been very quiet since her run-in with Vadin at lunch. Of course, my class had gone late, and I missed the showdown, but I knew she had been a total badass.

I jogged up the stairs to the second floor and smirked when I saw her at her favorite table. Her head was down, a waterfall of white hair blocked most of her face, and snowflake earphones kept her focused on her reading.