𝐒𝐲𝐧 ┃𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞

80. 𝐸𝑥𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛

Syn

I leaned against the couch, my eyes on the television as I stirred the glass of whiskey in my hand. I knew alcohol wasn't necessarily great while I was supposed to be getting over the pills, but I'd be fucking damned if I couldn't drink whiskey anymore...

Then why are you not drinking it?

I sighed, the internal question pressing into my brain. As badly as I wanted it, I couldn't bring myself to put the glass to my lips. Every time I did, Queen's face flashed into my mind. It was beginning to drive me crazy.

She occupied my mind like nothing else could. Today while I was dealing with an emergency with Hades, all I could think about was her. How fucking crazy was that? My men were telling me how demons were being killed in my own territory and all I could think about was if she had something to eat.

I fucking loved Queen. I would until I drew my last breath. But I needed to get my head straight or else everything I had spent my life working for would crumble in my hands.

When I got back to the cabin, I was exhausted. My head was pounding, and my chest was caving in— the pills weighed heavy on my mind. Instead of going where I knew they would be, I came home to be with Queen- just to lay with her and fall asleep to the sound of her heartbeat.

But to my disappointment, she wasn't there.

I saw the texts from Paris letting me know where they were and couldn't help but feel a tinge of jealousy- well, that's a lie. Not a tinge. I wanted to kill the man. Not only was he having dinner with my girl, but it was also at our place. I wanted to be the one to take her if she wanted to go.

The only thing reining in my rage was my trust in her. She wouldn't cheat on me.

My cell phone vibrated against the wooden coffee table in front of me and I set the glass down, reaching for it. A smile reached my lips as a message notification with Queen's picture flashed across my screen. I opened it.

Princess: I miss you.
12:39 a.m.

Me: I miss you more.
12:40 a.m.

Princess: Then why aren't you here...
12:41 a.m.

I watched the text bubbles appear again before disappearing and I looked at the messages in thought.

...because I wasn't invited.

That was why.

Me: I figured if you wanted me there, you'd let me know. Enjoy yourself, Princess. I'll see you when you get back.
12:45 a.m.

Princess: Take this as me letting you know.
12:46 a.m.

I read the text message and immediately sat up, something felt off. Queen was a lot more forward with me recently, but she didn't become grammatically correct on text overnight. There were no emojis, lack of periods, or exaggerated exclamation marks.

This wasn't her.

꧁꧂

Queen

I watched as Paris's fingers moved across my phone, his eyes set on the screen as my curiosity grew. "What are you texting him?" I asked. He passed my phone back to me and I chewed my lip as I read the messages.

Syn was replying constantly, but he had left the last message on read. Maybe he just wasn't interested. Syn had never been the best tester, but when he wanted to do something, he did it. He probably didn't want to be bothered tonight. He was going through a lot.