A Kingdom This Cursed and Empty (Kingdom of Lies, #2)

by Stacia Stark

And if our dreams get broken along the way, we have to make new ones from the pieces.

Men. So utterly predictable with their insistence on diminishing women to girls in an attempt to belittle us.

He knew. Without a doubt, the Bloodthirsty Prince knew exactly what that meant. But he was a man with secrets. According to my spies, Prisca hadn’t even known he was fae. Which meant he was still keeping her in the dark.

The wildcat was mine, and I would protect her until she came to that exact realization.

In my darkest moments, when I missed her the most—even as she sat right next to me—I listed what I did know. And I wondered if those small details would be enough to carry me through the rest of my life.

“You can tell yourself whatever makes it easiest for you to hate me, wildcat. But it was real. All of it.”

Nothing hardened a woman like betrayal from a man she’d trusted. And then men had the audacity to call us cold.

“Hate me, rage against me, refuse to admit what you feel. But don’t you dare treat me like a stranger.”

“But that doesn’t mean I won’t wish for you with every fucking breath for the rest of my life.”

“I’ve gone my whole life feeling like I’m holding my breath. Like my lungs are burning. Like I’m desperately fighting for each gasp of air. But when you’re around, I can…breathe. And I’m furious at you, because when that ends…when we’re forced apart, I don’t know how I’ll take a full breath without you.”

“Oh, wildcat. Don’t you know by now? I would have found you. No matter what happens, I will always find you.”