A Mirror of Eden

Chapter Five: When the Queen Test the Threshold of the Forbidden Throne

Sienna Kaitlyn Leone

Breathing in and breathing out was a task now that my blood pressure was back up for the millionth time tonight. Leonardo Sovrano made me sick. I hated how much he got under my skin. How much I let him get under me- not like that.

God not like that.

I hated how he had me in tailspins like this off of nothing. I couldn't think straight, and my mind, heart, and body acted on three different accords every time. The only thing they were in agreement on was that despite how I should hate Leonardo Sovrano, I never could. Not honestly. In the depths of my soul I knew that, but I wouldn't let it come to fruition. I couldn't.

I promised myself that I wouldn't, and I was not going to break it right now when I had other things to be focused on like the fact that that bitch and man were lying.

Yes, that was a more formidable distraction.

I knew something was up the minute we walked into the room to the small barrage of men posing as security. No man seeking sanctuary would require such drastic actions. Leonardo could've been unstable for all he knew, and that would've been an act of aggression before a singular word was spoken. He would've been dead before a singular hello slipped between a set of teeth.

Even more so was the way in which his story was told with no details and only vague recounts. Then there was the disrespect. Even if I was but a random woman, he would've known to show me respect so long as Leonardo extended it to me because that is the rule of thumb that a smart man in need of protection would've abided by. However, he wasn't smart. He was working with fucking Giovanni of all people, and if that didn't tell me everything that I needed to know nothing else on God's green Earth would've.

As I made my way into the restroom, I took in my surroundings as the music blasted unforgivingly into my ears with an earnest. I was grateful when the door closed muting it just enough for me to hear myself think through what I needed to happen. I didn't have to go to the bathroom, and looking in the mirror every aspect of my makeup and hair was still flawless. I hadn't left the room in order to freshen up anyway. I just knew that the minute I left that raging moron would crack. Or at the very least Leonardo would make him slip up enough to burst through the facade we both knew was going on.

I still hate Leonarado Sovrano. I wanted to make that abundantly clear before I assured myself that my confidence in him stemmed from the respect I had in his training under Marcé's careful hand. Him and Stefano hated each other something bad and had a rivalry like no other because of the way that they were so similar in the most pressing, competitive, and lethal ways. Where they were also similar was that we worked together in a sometimes startling synchronization. All he had to do was lean closer to me and shoot me a slight look from the side of his eyes and instantly I knew that he caught all the red flags as me. It made me uneasy when I thought too much about it, but in the moment it was a relief.