The Captive King~A Royal States Novel by Susan Copperfield

Author:Susan Copperfield [Copperfield, Susan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pen & Page Publishing
Published: 2018-02-12T05:00:00+00:00

The prison was actually a dungeon, one that had been converted to have three cells like mine. I disintegrated the metal doors, leaving powder in my wake. If they wanted to hold anyone else prisoner, they’d need to do some repairs.

Elise watched me with a slack jaw, her eyes so wide they were at risk of popping out.

“I’m probably crazy,” I told her after destroying the last door. “The last time I lost my temper, I cleared out an entire Nahua temple in a few seconds. Not one of my better moments.”

“Na-what?”

“Nahua. The Aztecs. I’m an archaeologist.”

“You’re a what?”

“I dig in the dirt looking for treasure under the guise of studying history.”

“What does Mr. Hauser want with an archaeologist? Why would he lock you down here? That doesn’t make sense! He’s insane. He has to be insane.”

“It probably has something to do with my choice of men. I don’t have relationships. I have disasters.”

Her expression twisted from horror. “Were you…?”

“No.” I heaved a sigh. As I’d trampled over her emotions, I began paying back the debt with a little honesty on my part. “I meant Landen. He’s nothing but trouble.”

Elise recoiled as though I’d smacked her across the face. “What?”

I indulged in a hearty stomp of my foot. “The audacity of that man. First, he buys the damned necklace so my dig team could keep working, but he dared to make dinner a part of the bid. How… how evil. He used my weakness against me. I can’t resist a good dinner. I guess it was payback. I made him buy me a coffee for a quarter. At a damned charity auction. He didn’t know I had a twenty to my name.” I hesitated. “If you ever meet someone named Landen, do not tell him I told you that. He’ll never let me forget it.”

Elise waited, her mouth opened.

“What? Is it that surprising someone would want to buy me dinner? I mean, it is. I’m not relationship material. I dig in the dirt for a living. Want to know what a rock is? I can probably help you with that. But men? Hell no. It was years before I could go near a man without throwing up on him—or burying him neck deep.”

“Why would you throw up on him?”

“I have issues.”

“What sort of issues?”

“Male trust issues.”

“You were raped, weren’t you?”

Turnabout was fair play, however uncomfortable. “It was an attempt, but it was a violent one. I got lucky. My talent helped. I flared. I got away, and after that, I learned to always be prepared. But I never lost the fear—or the anger.”

Elise swallowed, looking both ways down the hallway, as though fearing someone would hear her. “Even with…” Her hesitation caught my attention, and she gulped before asking, “Landen?”

I hoped she wouldn’t be as damaged as I was, although I usually viewed my issues as being strong so I would forget I’d been weak—and still was in many ways. Attempting levity, I forced a giggle. “Landen would lock me in his bedroom to keep me out of trouble if he could, and he’d probably make me like it.

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