Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 75968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
Bastien assumes our relationship is over. That I'll run for the hills and wash my hands clean of the most dangerous man in Paris. But I'm not going anywhere. Not now. Not ever. I ran before, but not anymore. I can tell it means the world to him.
But the dangers haven't passed. The Aristocrats want blood for their leader's execution. Bastien and his brother are still sworn enemies, and the gangs are beginning to riot against the Fifth Republic. It's the most dangerous time to be a French Emperor.
Bastien tells me all this...but I still won't leave.
I believe Bastien will keep me safe from all the monsters that lurk under the streets of Paris...until he doesn't. Until I'm captured by his enemies and taken from the City of Light. I know Bastien will come for me. I know Bastien will kill every single one of them for taking me.
But will I be dead by the time he gets here...like last time?
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
1
FLEUR
I sat on the couch in front of the TV, the news showing the charred body that hung from Notre-Dame. Sunrise had hit the city and I’d been up nearly all night, but I felt no fatigue, not when the adrenaline was still pumping away. Until Bastien walked in that door, I would be on alert.
I was in his t-shirt and his boxers because I had nothing else to wear. I wasn’t in the mood to blow-dry my hair, but after being locked in a wet coffin, I needed to be bone-dry. A blanket was draped over my shoulders and snug around my body because I was still cold, despite the hot shower and the steam that fogged the glass in the bathroom.
Gerard had left food and water for me, and I’d drunk all the water but ignored the food because I had no appetite.
I guess dying was an appetite suppressant.
The last thing I wanted to be was alone right now, forced to think about everything that had happened over and over. Anytime I visualized that coffin, tears welled in my eyes. I still felt the sting of the splinters that had impaled my fingertips. I still felt the cold rainwater against my skin. It had been so dark in that coffin that I’d only known where the water was by touch.
And I remembered how it felt to drown…quite vividly.
I’d held my breath as long as I could and pounded on the coffin lid even though it was hopeless. I’d wanted to die while fighting rather than die while submitting. But then my lungs took over and forced me to gasp—and that was when all the water flooded in.
It was painful…so fucking painful.
And to spend the last few seconds of your life knowing you were going to die was the worst part. To wait for it to end, to want to rush it just to make it stop, to be in complete darkness while it happened.
I didn’t feel my tears until they reached my lips. My eyes were glued to the TV, seeing the same clip they showed over and over, the body ablaze, because someone had caught it on camera from their apartment window.
That was the man who had ordered my death.
Good riddance.
I heard footsteps approach, and I turned to the door, knowing Bastien was finally home now that the deed was done. I already felt the relief before he walked in, felt the peace that only he could give.
The door opened, but it wasn’t just him. Adrien was with him.
Bastien was still coated in filth and mud because he hadn’t changed since pulling me out of that coffin. It was even on his face and neck, dried in place. He glanced at the TV to see the news before he looked at me again.
My eyes were on Adrien.
All that relief, all that peace…just evaporated.
Adrien stilled at the sight of me, hesitating at the ferocity that must have been in my gaze.
I released the blanket and got to my feet, wearing clothes that were far too big for me, and I walked up to him, seeing him tremble slightly at my approach. His eyes remained locked on mine but were packed with fear. So many things I wanted to say, so many things I wanted to do. I nearly asked for Bastien’s gun so I could shoot Adrien in the arm. But he wasn’t worth the emotional investment. “I wish I’d never met you.” I wished I could take back those years, take back my vows, take back my heart.
He flinched like I’d punched him, like those simple words were sharper than a dagger. “They were going to come for you, no matter what I did, Fleur. I saved you. I called Bastien and saved you—”
“Bastien saved me.”
“Because I called him—”
“All of that could have been avoided if you’d just told them that Bastien and I are together. That’s all you had to fucking say, and they would have let me go.” My eyes burned with furious tears. “I died, Adrien. Fucking drowned in mud.”
He clenched his eyes closed to shut out the pain of my words. “I know—”
“You don’t know. You don’t know what it’s like to fucking die.”
He opened his eyes again, soaking wet with tears that were sincere. “I was so scared, Fleur. You have no idea.”
“No, you have no idea how scared I was. Trapped in the dark with a fucking camera in my face. The cold water inching closer to my mouth, and every move you make just sucks up the oxygen and makes the water pour in more.”
He closed his eyes again, like he couldn’t bear it. “It all happened so fast. I knew Oscar and Bastien did business together, so I assumed he would honor the code. I never imagined my beef with him would come anywhere near you. If I’d known that, I would have caved to him immediately. I would never risk the person I love most—”