Sneak Peak Book Two
His Dangerous Queen
Amelia
T he night air is thick with the scent of blood that clings to my skin, sinking into the fabric of my dress like an unholy baptism. The once-pristine silk is splattered with crimson, a reminder of the life I’ve taken—the life I had to take. I stand in the warehouse, the dim light from the overhead bulbs casting eerie shadows against the concrete walls.
The man at my feet gurgles his last breath, eyes wide with shock, with fear. He never saw it coming. They never do when it’s me delivering the final blow. The first time I killed, my hands shook. My heart pounded so violently I thought my body would break.
But not tonight. Tonight, I am steady. I am resolute. Because I am the queen of this empire now, and a queen does what she must to protect her kingdom. Behind me, footsteps echo. I don’t have to turn to know who it is. My husband Matteo. His presence is a force, dark and intoxicating, wrapping around me like a storm that only I know how to weather.
He steps closer, his fingers brushing against my wrist, smearing the blood there before lifting my hand to his lips. He kisses the evidence of my sin like it’s something holy.
“You’ve done well, amore mia .”
His voice is thick with pride, with desire. I tilt my chin, meeting his gaze with something just as dark. “I told you I would.”
He chuckles, low and dangerous. “They’ll fear you more than they fear me soon.”
“I Think they already do.”
I glance back at the man on the floor—the last loose thread of an old enemy’s betrayal. He thought I was just Matteo’s wife, just his weakness. He thought wrong. Matteo says I belong to him. But what he didn’t realize then—what no one realizes—is that he belongs to me just as much. We are two halves of the same darkness, feeding off each other, growing stronger together. And now, there’s no stopping us.
I step over the body, walking toward the exit where the black car waits. Matteo falls in step beside me, our fingers brushing before he grips my hand fully.
“You won’t regret it.”
“No. I never will.” I say without hesitation.
He smiles, dark and knowing. As the door swings shut behind us, sealing away the carnage of tonight, I realize something with absolute certainty—this world is ours.
Darkness isn’t something you’re born with. It’s something that’s cultivated, nurtured, sharpened like a blade until it becomes an extension of you. I used to think strength meant survival, that enduring the worst of this world without losing myself was victory. I was wrong. Survival isn’t enough. Not in this life. Not in our world. You don’t just endure the darkness—you become it and I have.
The Amelia Ricci who once dreamed of escaping this life is gone. The girl who hesitated, who thought she could hold onto innocence, while standing beside a man like Matteo, no longer exists.
In her place is something else, something colder, something dangerous. Replaced by Amelia Moretti. A queen. A ruler. A woman who no longer needs to be protected. Matteo sits beside me in the car, his grip firm around my hand. His touch used to be something I fought against, something that made me feel trapped. But now, it’s an anchor. A reminder that I am exactly where I belong—at his side, ruling beside him, feared just as much as he is. I glance at my reflection in the car’s tinted window.
My eyes are different now. Sharper. Colder. There’s a weight in them that wasn’t there before, a power that’s been forged through blood and fire.
“You’re thinking something dangerous,” Matteo murmurs as he settles into the seat beside me. I smirk, turning to face him.
“I always am.”
His hand moves to my thigh, a slow, possessive touch. “Tell me.”
I lean in, my lips just a breath away from his. “I used to think you dragged me into the darkness. That you chained me to it.”
“And now?”
I grip his chin, forcing him to look at me the way I want him to, the way I need him to. “Now, I realize I need to let it out.”
The car starts, the low hum of the engine a quiet backdrop to the storm between us. Matteo watches me like he’s seeing me for the first time, like he finally understands that the woman before him isn’t the one he kidnapped, the one he forced into a contract. That woman would have run.
This one? She’ll burn the world down at his side. I settle back in my seat, my hand resting over my stomach. A family born of blood and fire, of ruthless ambition and unbreakable love. Our child is almost here and I feel like I have accomplished a lot in the last year. Matteo follows the movement, his expression darkening with something deeper than obsession.
“Our child will have a kingdom stronger than any before it.” he says, his voice thick with certainty.
A slow smile curves my lips. “Yes and I’ll destroy anyone who dares to threaten it.”
Matteo chuckles, taking my hand into his and stroking it with his thumb.
To Be Continued…