Chapter 27
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
acelynn
Kaius left me to get cleaned up with a simple kiss to the lips.
I smiled as if I were obeying. But inside, I was already counting down the moments I could drop the facade.
My fingers swiped at the smudged mascara on my face as I tried to even out my makeup the best I could in the reflection of his computer monitor.
Luckily, it would be dark enough in the bar that no one would truly notice.
Stepping back, something crunched under the heel of my boot.
I peered down, finding a simple sheet of cream-colored paper.
Reaching down, I picked it up, ready to place it on the desk, but the dark inked letters had me frozen in place.
It was a marriage certificate. My heart sank as I continued reading.
This certifies
Kaius Julian Mordred and Emersyn Ryan Spade
were united in marriage on
June 18th, 2025
The date of the Death Dealers massacre sent a shiver down my spine.
All the other lines were left blank and unsigned.
I stepped back, my thighs hitting the edge of the desk chair.
My chest felt heavy, like an invisible weight was pressing down on it, suffocating me with its intensity.
Every breath in felt like an uphill battle, shallow and jagged, as the air in my lungs refused to enter.
My mind was spiraling out of control, a whirlwind of fear and questions tearing its way through it.
Why was my given name placed on a marriage certificate to Kaius?
I was never told I was going to be married off, and even though it was not uncommon in my family line of business, Alec would have warned me.
Images of the days leading up to the massacre flashed before my eyes, and I tried to scrutinize every sentence he said to me.
Every slight tic of his brow or scowl that crossed his face, because there was no way my brother would have hidden this from me.
Settling down in the seat, I desperately tried to find some sort of relief to the burning sensation in my lungs.
But it was no use. The walls seemed to be closing in around me, trapping me in a suffocating embrace.
My heart pounded in my chest, a relentless beat echoing in my ears.
Tears began to well up in my eyes as I struggled to find something to ground me.
It felt like I was drowning on dry land, engulfed by a sea of panic and terror I had never felt before.
My hands were shaking uncontrollably as I clutched the armrests of the chair, searching for something, anything, in my memories to anchor me to a reality that made sense.
The world continued to spin around me, a blur of colors and shapes that had me wanting to vomit.
I was trapped in a nightmare of my own past, and if Kaius knew who I was from the beginning, I might as well have just been a mouse being played with by a cat.
Gripping my hands into fists, I dug my fingernails into my palms, cutting into the skin.
The pain distracted me just enough for me to calm my breathing.
I had to pull myself together and get back to work because there was a good chance Kaius had never seen what I once looked like.
I had done a good job of purging myself from the internet, leaving no trace of the blonde-haired, blue-eyed Emersyn Spade behind.
Now I was only Acelynn Thorton, and I had to play the role if I wanted the answers I was owed.
It was a typical Saturday night at the Queen’s Table.
The bar was packed wall to wall, and I wasn’t even sure if it was even in code to have this many people in the space.
I had avoided getting up on the bar to dance for most of the night, but it was getting to the point that Astoria was constantly asking if something was wrong.
I had tried to put on a brave face, but even Kaius, who was standing with Nolan and Vincent near the pool table room, was shooting me worried glances.
A new country song blared through the speakers, and Astoria shot me a hopeful look that I would join her on the bar.
I sighed, knowing we had been practicing this line dance all week, and I was going to have to either get up there to perform or break Astoria’s heart.
Quickly, I bounded up the steps to the top of the bar, letting Astoria pull me into the middle of it.
She knocked her hip with mine slightly before we began the simple movements.
I threw my head back laughing as we moved our hips in a circle, spinning once before continuing the footwork we had perfected.
There was something about dancing on this bar that freed me from every worry in the world. No more thoughts of dead family members or the rival clubs that mowed them down. No more thoughts of being married off or getting caught by your supposed fiancé for betraying him. No more thoughts at all.
Astoria’s frightened yell pulled me from the routine, and I looked down to see a drunken man gripping her left ankle. She tried to kick and squirm away from his touch, but he firmly yanked, sending her toppling into the crowd.
“Hey! What the hell are you doing?” I cried out, jumping into the swarm of people after her.
I could hear her still screaming over the music, and I followed the sound of her voice.
Two men had her held between them, their cruel laughter drawing even more of a crowd around them.
I shoved my way through the mass of people until I was right in front of one of them.
Before I realized what I was doing, my fist swung up and clipped one of the men in the side of his face.
He spun around, eyes going over my head and to another person behind me.
I jumped out of the way just in time as he tackled the other patron, and before I knew it, the bar was in full chaos.
Punches and screams rang out in the space.
The music was cut short, making it much easier to hear them.
“Astoria,” I screamed.
She turned to look at me, eyes filled with fear.
I reached out. “Grab my hand.”
She had to slightly jump to lace her fingers with mine, but once I had a tight grip on her, I ripped Astoria forward. She tumbled through the crowd and slammed into me.
“Watch out.” Her wide eyes stared at something behind me.
I turned just in time for a woman with a bright orange top to land a hit against the side of my skull.
A cry broke through my lips, and the entire room began to spin.
Astoria gripped my shoulders tightly as my body started to sway from side to side.
I could barely hear her screaming for Nolan or Kaius as blood pounded in my ears.
My eyes felt heavy, wanting nothing more than to fall into the endless darkness that called to me when Kaius’s green eyes appeared in front of me, and suddenly, I was in his arms as he shoved through the fight.
I snuggled into his chest, breathing in his scent to calm my racing heart.
Kaius’s angered voice barked out an order to someone, but the words were disjointed in my mind.
“You can’t go to sleep, kitten,” Kaius’s soft tone called down to me.
The only response I could make was a light whine. His hand lightly slapped the side of my face, and I snapped open my eyes to glare at him.
A slight chuckle slipped from his lips. “There you are, pretty girl. Now don’t close them again. Keep your eyes on me.”
“You’re bossy,” I grumbled, eyes tracking the space we had ventured into. I was sitting on the side of one of the three pool tables in the game room.
The glass pane windowed doors were shut, closing in Kaius, Astoria, Nolan, and me in the room. He tweaked the edge of my chin, shooting me a quick wink before turning over his shoulder to meet Nolan’s gaze.
“I got them.” Nolan nodded once toward the door. “Go handle that shitshow.”
Kaius looked back at me once before he stalked out the doors. I sighed, lowering myself so I was lying back against the pool table. The thumping of the club’s bass shook the black crystal chandelier above me.
“Here,” Astoria’s voice called over me before a bag full of ice landed in the center of my chest.
I hissed out at the contact it made with my skin before grasping it in my hand and lifting it to the bump forming on my head.
Astoria chuckled. “This is not how I expected the night to go.”
“I don’t know,” I grumbled. “This seems pretty up to par with my current luck.”
I turned to look at her, causing both of us to burst out laughing.
It was the type of laughter that you could only get with your best friend.
The one where it made your stomach hurt because you couldn’t stop once you began.
I hadn’t laughed this way for years, and I had missed it.
Astoria was beginning to heal a piece of me long since gone, and I was incredibly grateful for her.
Even if she was now in possession of that image, it was clear she wasn’t going to use it against me. Or maybe she didn’t even find it.
Tears began to collect in the corners of my eyes as we curled into each other, our hysterical laughter filling the room. Hell, even Nolan had joined in with us. And I realized that this is what it felt like to truly belong somewhere. To feel at home.