A body slams into me and I pause. My lips part when I meet her eyes. Those bright green ones. Sarah. I’ve never forgotten her name. The way she looks is different now. She’s not confused, crying, or begging me to bring back her mother.

She’s just like them.

She wants me to pay.

“I knew it was you. Give me my mother back! Give me my life back!” She slaps me across the face so hard, I reel from the shock of it. I don’t move, though. I don’t even protect myself. If I stay still, if I let them beat me, they’ll eventually get it out of their system and leave me alone.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I’m so sorry.”

“Your apology can’t give me back what I lost.” Slap. Scratch. Claw. “Murderer! Murderer!”

“I’m so sorry. I’m s-so sorry.” A sob tears out of my throat as I chant the words over and over again. Not that it will make them stop, but it’s the only thing I know to say to them.

My lips burn. I taste the metallic tinge of blood. But I stay in place as she takes out her anger and bitterness on me.

My physical pain is nothing compared to what she and the others have been through.

When Sarah seems spent, she slumps to the ground, bawling, sobbing, and falling apart. I try to clutch her shoulder, pull her up — something to offer a small amount of comfort — but she shoves me away. I fall backwards, my hands and hip taking the sting.

My palms burn and blood seeps from the skin, but it doesn’t matter. This type of pain doesn’t matter.

I stumble to my feet, ignoring the dirt on my clothes. All I care about is the small box between my fingers.

She glares up at me, her gaze full of tears and her expression haunted, distraught.

Just like back then.

That’s what it looks like to steal a little girl’s innocence when she’s just ten. To steal her only support and the only person she had by no fault of her own.

“I hope you die like Mum did.”

I step backwards, my lips trembling. I keep walking like that, not wanting to give her my back. Being hit on the head in the past has taught me to never give them my back.

Being stabbed in the ribs has taught me that, too.

I keep watching my surroundings in case someone else has figured out where I live.

Now, they’ll come for me.

Now, they won’t leave me alone.

Run.

Run.

By the time I reach my car, I’m a mess. My cheeks and palms and even my neck sting. My lips won’t quit bleeding. My heart aches and I feel like breaking apart.

I rummage through my bag and snatch my phone. Jonathan. I have to call Jonathan.

I hate that my first thought is of him, but a sense of safety envelops me like a warm blanket in winter when I think of him.

His phone is off. My fingers tremble as I let it fall to my lap. He’s probably in a meeting.

My gaze shifts to the box in my palm and I retrieve the flash drive, jamming it into the car stereo.

Alicia’s voice filters in, brittle and shaky. “Claire…I just…I just found out Jonathan wants me dead. He’s been poisoning me all this time. He wants to kill me. I…I don’t think I can make it. I wanted to take you and Aiden and go, but…I don’t think I can. He’s after me. Remember when I told you to only call him in emergencies? Don’t. Ever. Run, baby sister. Run from all of them.”

I gasp as her words creep into my head like doom.

No.

No.

Jonathan didn’t…he couldn’t…

And yet, he did.

It’s just like when Dad told me on that day I was crying when Alicia didn’t come to see me.

“You’re born alone. You die alone. Why do you keep leaning on other people?”

My mind shuts down. I turn numb as all the events from today slam back into me. Dad’s interview. Sarah’s attack. Alicia’s warning.

I kick the car into gear and do as she said. As I did eleven years ago.

I run.

I disappear.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Jonathan & Aurora’s story concludes in Rise of a Queen.

Curious about Aiden & Elsa? You can read their story in Deviant King.

You can also read Levi & Astrid’s story in Cruel King.

If you haven’t yet, you can read the bonus scenes from Jonathan King’s POV in Rule of a Kingdom.

What’s Next?

Thank you so much for reading Reign of a King! If you liked it, please leave a review.

Your support means the world to me.

If you’re thirsty for more discussions with other readers of the series, you can join the Facebook group, Rina’s Spoilers Room.

If you’re looking to what to read next, jump into Rise of a Queen, the epic conclusion of Jonathan & Aurora’s story.

Release Date: November 19th

Blurb

Nothing is fair in love.

This is my kingdom. My territory.

I own everything and control everyone, Aurora included.

She shouldn’t have barged into my world with no armour.

She shouldn’t have caught my attention with no warning.

Alas, she did.

Then she thought she could disappear.

If a battle is what it’ll take to protect and own her, I’ll shed blood.

Wars aren’t fair, and neither am I.

Find Rise of a Queen here.

Also By Rina Kent

ROYAL ELITE SERIES

Cruel King

Deviant King

Steel Princess

Twisted Kingdom

Black Knight

Vicious Prince

Ruthless Empire

Royal Elite Epilogue

LIES & TRUTHS DUET

All The Lies

All The Truths

KINGDOM DUET

Rule of a Kingdom (Free Prequel)

Reign of a King

Rise of a Queen

TEAM ZERO SERIES

Lured

Crowed

Ghosted

Shadowed

Misted

Team Zero Boxset 1-3

THE RHODES SERIES

Remorse (FREE)

HATE & LOVE DUET

He Hates Me

He Hates Me Not

About the Author

Rina Kent is an international bestselling author of everything enemies to lovers romance.

Darkness is her playground, suspense is her best friend, and twists are her brain’s food. However, she likes to think she’s a romantic at heart in some way, so don’t kill her hopes just yet.

Her heroes are anti-heroes and villains because she was always the weirdo who fell in love with the guys no one roots for. Her books are sprinkled with a touch of mystery, a healthy dose of angst, a pinch of violence, and lots of intense passion.

Rina spends her private days in a peaceful town in North Africa daydreaming about the next plot idea or laughing like an evil mastermind when those ideas come together.

If you’re in the mood to stalk me:

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