Chapter 41

ALINA

I spent the entire night crying, my body wracked with sobs that didn’t seem to stop, no matter how much I wanted them to. When sleep finally came, it was restless and broken, and by the time I woke up, my head was pounding with a relentless throb. The pain was as much emotional as it was physical, and for a moment, I just lay there, staring at the ceiling, letting the memories of the previous day crash over me.

Yesterday was my wedding day. The day I had tied myself to Jaime in what was supposed to be an act of revenge, but instead, it had turned into a nightmare. My chest tightened as I remembered the way Jaime had grabbed me, his rough hands pulling me down, the fear that had surged through me when he wouldn’t let go. I could still feel his hands on me, still see the way his face had twisted with drunken determination. And then, Kai had shown up, like some kind of avenging angel, tearing Jaime away from me and beating him bloody.

It had all happened so fast, but the fear, th