Forbidden Princess (Retribution Games #2) - Ella Miles Page 0,5

men, one of who gets to marry me. My choices, my life, have been completely taken away from me.

I understand a little bit of grief. I didn’t lose my other half; I just lost myself.

More men put their names into the bowl, and every time I pray that none of the other Retribution Kings enter. Sure, I’d love to up my odds of ending up with one of them. Any of them—Hayes, Gage, and even Lennox—would be better than a complete stranger, but I don’t want them to risk their lives for me.

“Any other participants?” my father steps forward and says.

I hold my breath, waiting to see if anyone else will enter. I’ve barely paid attention to who has entered, except to ensure that none of my guys did.

My guys—ha. They aren’t mine.

“Good, then I must ask anyone who didn’t enter to leave.”

I exhale my worry. At least Hayes, Gage, and Lennox are safe.

The room fills with the sound of chairs scraping and good wishes murmured as the room clears out. Soon, only the guys who have decided they want to compete for me are left.

My father walks to me and takes the bowl from my hands. He quickly counts the number of cards and then sets the bowl down on the floor.

“Thirty-three,” my father says with no reaction to the number.

Thirty-three, my heart moans. How many of them are going to survive this game?

The world will be better off with most of these monsters gone.

I just need two to survive.

My father walks to me and grabs my elbow, leading us toward the center of the stage. The lights are still blinding me to the crowd. I can’t see any of them, but I know all of their eyes are on me.

I want to shiver, but I won’t allow them to see my fear. I’ll figure a way out of this. I hold my head high, my eyes piercing the darkness, trying to strike each of their hearts with daggers.

“The deal is simple. It’s the same one I offered Nicolo. You prove worthy of my daughter, and you get the honor of marrying her. You get my blessing. And if you produce a male heir, you get my kingdom the day the child is born.”

There is a collective gasp; even I catch my breath. This means whomever I marry is going to fuck me over and over relentlessly until we produce a male child. And if we have daughters, I can’t think what someone might do to them.

Fuck, I have to find a way out.

It’s one thing to hurt me; it’s another to hurt an innocent child.

“What about if we knock her up with a boy before we marry her?” someone dares to heckle from the crowd.

My father gives a stern look. He pulls out a gun and fires into the crowd.

The crowd goes silent. I have no idea if he just shot someone or just shot fear into them.

I don’t dare move. He won’t shoot me; he needs me. But there is no way he could tell who he was shooting, so he clearly doesn’t care.

Please, let Beckett and Caius be alive.

“The terms are the same as I had with Nicolo. Sex is forbidden until I give you permission. She is off-limits in that way, and I’ll be checking.”

The screen behind us turns back on like this is a presentation he planned with visuals.

The room is beyond silent as a man speaks from the speakers behind me.

“Spread your legs and scoot down to the edge of the bed for me, dear.”

Don’t look, a voice from deep inside whispers.

But my mind twists with too many images of what my father could be playing.

“That’s a good girl.”

Every hair on my arms rises. I’ve heard that voice before.

My hands clench as my breathing shallows.

Don’t look.

I have to look.

Slowly, I turn around to face the screen. And it’s as evil as my worst nightmares.

I’m lying on a bed, the same bed I stayed in last night. My legs are spread on the edge of the bed, and there’s a man dressed as a doctor between them. My father and two other men observe from the door.

“Hymen looks to still be intact,” the doctor says, removing a gloved finger from my body.

I stare at myself. How old was I?

Eighteen? Nineteen? Younger? I can’t tell.

But there is no fear in my eyes. No tears as I lie on that bed, which I can’t say is true now.

I feel the tears welling. The violation pulses through