Wicked Games

Chapter 28

LISA

Loving women with fury in their hearts has taught me that there are three types of anger. The first is at an injustice, a heavy rage that fuels rebellions and movements. The second is a protective anger. This one is dangerous. It's white hot and makes a woman fearless and capable of indescribable feats.

And then there's the last type of anger. A rage so deep, so furious, that it can crack a soul in half and smother its innards in scars. An anger fuelled by betrayal, by heartbreak.

That is the volcanic poison filling my body right now.

"Daughter? You're his fucking daughter?" I scream. "And you didn't think you should mention that?"

Roseanne opens and closes her mouth, no words escaping.

I can't see. The only thing I can hear is the rushing slam of blood in my ears. My ribs rise and fall in haggard breaths.

"You?" the Border Lord says, pointing at me. "I recognise you."

The Border Lord. Her father...

Oh. Fuck.

In one instant, the furnace throbbing inside my body evaporates. Instead, I'm left ice cold. My mouth dries. My chest hollows.

Everything slots into place.

The Border Lord. The commission. His commission. The job that got my parents killed. I can't breathe. Static fills my vision, my limbs numbing. Because there's more. Much more that I haven't told Roseanne. But she's betrayed me. Lied. Then again, so have I, and I didn't even realise.

"This whole time?" I breathe. My jaw is hard. I want to break something, smash the room until it's dust and ash.

I don't know whether I want to cry or scream or laugh. All three. I'm furious with her. I should kill her for lying, for breaking my trust. And yet, I've done exactly the same to her.

This isn't a game anymore. Not when everyone loses.

Roseanne frowns, glancing from her father to me, realisation slowly dawning on her. "What was the mission you did for my father, Lisa..." she asks, turning to me.

"Yes, Lisa. What was it?" the Border Lord says, sneering.

Roseanne's shaking her head, her knuckles white over her blade. Maybe I deserve to die. She glances between me and her father.

"If you tell her," I spit, "both of us will lose her." My body is tense, my muscles straining, as more soldiers flood the room, magic and weapons held high. I want to pounce, to let the ice in my veins ignite and kill them.

Kill them all.

"The only one with anything to fear here is you," the Border Lord says.

I shake my head. He doesn't get it. Doesn't understand. He's going to undo everything. I'll tell her because she deserves the truth. Because I'd give her anything, even if it meant losing her.

"Roseanne, I'm so sorry," I say, the words faltering in my throat.

Hyeri and Jisoo are sizing up the soldiers, scanning the bodies, counting. We're outnumbered three to one. I assessed the second the room filled. It's going to be ugly.

"What did you do?" she says, her voice breathy.

"I..." I can't. I don't want to tell her. Her expression, the way she looks at me with such purity creates a war inside me. How could she have kept this from me? Why? And then I realise, to protect him, the same way she always protected her brother. No matter how hurt I am, she won't forgive me. Not for this.