Sovereign Read Online Free Page A

took a drink of wine. “That doesn’t seem very fair.”
    “I tire of Acquisition talk,” Sophia said. “And frankly, I’m not certain why this one is allowed to eat with us.” She waved her hand at me. “I mean, really, are we going to have the hunting dogs at the table with us next?”
    I held my tongue. Not for my sake, but for Teddy’s.
    Sin laughed, his booming amusement like a knife twisting in my back. “We simply thought the Sovereign might enjoy a look at Stella.”
    “If you tell a redhead joke, so help me—” She leaned in and kissed Sin, their lips meeting and taking my breath away. It was obvious this wasn’t the first time.
    They were together. My mouth went dry as she gave him another peck and pulled away.
    Cal sighed. “Fine, darling, if it’s going to bother you that much, we’ll send her out.”
    “Thank you, Daddy.”
    Daddy . It all clicked into place. Sophia was Cal’s daughter.
    “Stella will take lunch in her room. Thank you, Laura.” Lucius kicked my foot.
    I stood and squeezed Teddy’s shoulder before walking from the room. He needed to stay silent, to sit through the meal and pretend to be one of them. Despite his goodness, he had to know that a certain level of acting was necessary just to survive in the world of Sovereigns and Acquisitions.
    Just as I reached the door, Sophia called, “How’s your arm?”
    I turned to her, confusion and déjà vu mixing like a molotov cocktail in my memory. “What?”
    Sin draped his arm across her shoulders and pulled her closer, dropping a kiss in her hair.
    She laughed, as if I were behaving like a silly child. “Your arm. Don’t you remember?”
    “That was you.” She’d been disguised by a mask at the Christmas trial, but I recognized her voice and eyes. When I’d tried to dress for the cold and give Brianne my sweater, Sophia had hit me with a black baton. It took a month for the bruise to heal, for the bone to feel strong again.
    “That was me. Too bad I didn’t break it.” She leaned back into Sin, her dark eyes sparkling with malice. “Now get out of here before looking at you puts me off my lunch.”

 
    CHAPTER FOUR
     
    S INCLAIR
     
    T HREE MONTHS EARLIER
     
    “ I F HE LOSES THE Acquisition, Sin has to kill Teddy?” Stella’s weak voice floated down the hall.
    My steady steps turned into a sprint until I was at my mother’s open door.
    “Teddy dies.” Rebecca’s voice, wizened and brittle like a fallen leaf, cut through the air.
    Panic sliced my heart when I saw Stella standing at the mouth of hell, her skin pale, her eyes wide.
    “Stella!” I rushed to her.
    “I see no harm in telling the peasant girl the rules.” Mother smiled, hate in every wrinkle, every line.
    “Tell me. Tell me all of them.” Stella stared up at me, her green eyes watering, though not a single tear fell. “I have to know.” She gripped my arms, holding me tight and pinning me to the spot with the anguish in her voice.
    “Tell her, son. Tell her.” My mother’s gleeful cackle was too much to bear.
    I wrenched myself free of Stella’s hold and went to the medicine cabinet. Locked . I gripped the handles and yanked, pulling until the wood splintered and the doors flew open. Grabbing a syringe, I turned and approached the demon on the bed.
    “Please don’t.” Renee cried, but didn’t rise to stop me.
    “No.” Mother tried to scoot away, fear darkening her wild eyes.
    I grabbed her arm and pulled it straight. She slapped me and scratched my neck. I ignored it, just like I ignored every bit of pain she’d caused since that hellish night in Brazil. Even as she struggled and screamed, I hit her vein and depressed the plunger.
    Her motions slowed, her words ceasing, and then she collapsed back into the bed, finally asleep. Finally silent.
    Renee shoved me aside and sank down on the bed, stroking Mother’s face and crying. “How could you?”
    “It needed to be done.” I tried to clear my head, to douse the fire of emotions