Stolen Heir (Brutal Birthright, #2)

by Sophie Lark

“Your men raped my sister, on her way to write her university entrance exams. She was sixteen years old. She was a good girl—kind, gentle, innocent. She wasn’t part of your world. There was no reason to hurt her.” Zajac’s eyes narrow. “If you wanted restitution—” “There is no restitution,” I say bitterly. “She killed herself.”

“Satin Birds,” by Abel Korzeniowski. Melancholy and haunting, but actually quite a beautiful song. One of my favorites, before this moment.

“Jak długo będziesz czekać?” Jonas says. “Tak długo, jak mi się podoba,” the Beast replies lazily. “Mogą śledzić cię tutaj.”

I see her, and she sees me. I was death, and she was life. I thought I’d had stolen her, brought her down to the underworld. All the while she was waking me up. Stirring the blood in my veins. Breathing air into my lungs.

Love is the one thing you can’t steal. You can’t create it, either. It either exists or it doesn’t. And if it exists, you can’t take it by force.

“You’re going to be okay,” she promises me. Probably not, but I won’t argue. I have to tell her something, while I still have time. “Do you know why I sent you away?” I ask her. “Yes,” she sobs. “Because you love me.” “That’s right,” I sigh.

I’m more than good, and he’s more than bad. We’re opposites, and yet made for each other.

“I was a corpse when I met you, Nessa,” he says. “No breath. No heart. No life. I felt nothing. I cared about nothing. Then I saw you, and you woke me up inside. I was such a fool at first. I was so numb that I thought that spark must be hatred. If I was a normal person, I would have realized it was love. Love at first sight. From the second I laid eyes on you.”

“Nessa, I’ll love you every second of my life. I’ll love you for exactly what you are, and whatever you become. Anything you want, I’ll make it happen for you. I’ll never hold you back. I’ll always tell you the truth. I’ll keep you safe and happy, at any cost.”

“Mikolaj, I love you with all my heart. I promise, you’ll be the only man in the world to me. I’ll be your lover and your best friend. We’ll do the hard things and the fun things. We’ll make our choices together, for the good of us both. I’ll always put you before anything else, so that nothing can come between us.”