"Thank you all for joining us this morning," the priest spoke, ending his millionth prayer of the night. "Before we go, I'd like to allow my nephew to say a few words. As you all know, he will be taking my place after I retire in a few months. I hope you all welcome him as you did me."

The audience clapped and a gentleman dressed in the same white ensemble as the pastor entered from backstage. He waved at the crowd, a large grin on his face, creating crinkles on his forehead. For someone taking over, I'd think that it would be someone young, but he looked only a few years younger, his peppered hair giving away his age.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen," he said. "As most of you know, my name is Justin Cline and I am an Underworlder. If you know my story, you know that I have sinned." He crossed the stage. "I've been in the eye of the devil and given in to those temptations that we speak of turning away. But with God's guidance and mercy, I stand before you all, a new man. A man that will hopefully take you all by the hands, and bring you into the light of salvation with me."

I rolled my eyes as everyone cheered once again, and my head swung over to Queen whose focus was on stage, her eyes lacking any life behind them. She left so abruptly after I kissed her, but I didn't think she'd be miserable over it.

"To officially welcome my nephew into our church," the priest started, laying a hand on Justin's shoulder. "He will be having his wedding here next week. This event will be two new beginnings for him. One with us, and one with his new wife whom I love and I'm sure you all will. Matter of fact, Queen come up and join us."

My brows furrowed, not believing what I just heard and my head snapped towards Queen who stood up from her seat. Her eyes flicked to mine, nothing I could read showing in her expression, and she walked up to the stage. Justin held out his hand for her, and he wrapped his arm around her waist when she was by his side.

"Well shit," Xavier whispered.

I watched as Queen flashed him a quick smile that dropped as soon as it appeared and looked down at the floor. The infuriating woman who had a hard time biting her tongue with me was gone, and in her place was a quiet and submissive girl who looked like she'd rather be anywhere else.

I leaned forward in my seat again and glanced at Queen. "What does she look like now?" I whispered.

"She looks happy." Does she?

"Are you both ready to get married?" The priest asked.

"Yes, we are," Justin answered, his fingers slowly gliding across Queen's hip. A gesture I'm sure only I caught, but it left a bitter taste in my mouth. "I've been ready since the day I met her." They made eye contact with one another, and the crowd made an 'aww' noise. As they were distracted by what was being projected to them, my eyes studied Queen.

Over the past couple of weeks, she'd been at the palace, I had no choice but to observe her when she was around. I wanted to figure her out, and on that mission, I picked up on a few of her ticks and cues.

One key thing she seemed to do when she looked down or stressed, was dig her nails into her palm. I noticed it when she was speaking to her family, or when Xyla was yelling at her over something stupid. It was an interesting habit, as when I tried it nothing happened, but whatever it did seemed to work to keep her calm.

Her hands were behind her back so I couldn't see if this was one of those situations...but I'd figure it out.

"Well, we can't wait to see you both." Everyone clapped once again. "As for everyone else, I'll see you next Sunday. Enjoy your week, and keep God in your minds and hearts."

The people in their seats began standing up as the guards at the exit opened the double doors. Slowly, the room began to empty and I stood up from my seat, walking towards Justin and Queen who were walking down the steps of the stage.

Justin's eyes met mine and fear flashed in his eyes. "Y-you're-"

"Mhmm," I hummed, ignoring his stutter and grabbing Queen's arm from behind her. Her hand was fisted as I took it and she tried to move away, but I held her firmly in place, opening her palm. As I thought, there were red marks in her skin, an indication of her bad habit, and I let go of her. "You both have a nice day."

Queen looked up at me in confusion, holding her hand against her. "Why'd you-"

"Let's go," Justin said, walking away from me and pulling her with him. Her eyes lingered on mine, still not knowing the reasons for my actions and I shoved my hands into my pockets. He moved her to remaining guests around the room, showing her off as if she were some doll and my jaw ticked.

Ninety-nine percent of my mind and body was telling me to mind my own business and forget about Queen; I had more important things to focus on...like Hell.

But that one percent wanted to know more. I wanted to know what she was thinking, the reasons behind her actions, why she was marrying a man three times her age...

...how it would feel to have her kiss me back.

As stupid as I knew it was- shit, I cursed myself for thinking this way, but I planned to follow that one percent. Not for Queen, but because in all my years of being alive...never had Hell been given less than one hundred percent of my focus.

꧁꧂

For the next few days following the events at the church, it became abundantly clear that I was being avoided. Queen no longer showed up to the library, proving to be a greater disappointment to me than it was before. Whenever I entered a room, she would make an excuse to leave, and when she passed me in the hallway, she'd become a track star.

"What are you thinking about?" Xavier questioned, drawing me out from my thoughts. "We have a lot of paperwork to do Syn." I rotated the pen in my fingers, not responding to him and he snapped his fingers in my face. "Syn!"

"What do you want?" I grumbled.

"I want you to help me out," he said. "Montgomery is going to freak if we don't sign this contract. We need to look through the contract and strike anything that-"

"Fuck Montgomery."

"Syn." He rubbed his temples. "We've been trying to get this building from Kennedy for months. Don't do this now."

"It could have been done all those months ago if you had just agreed with my plan."

"Your plan was to kill him."

I shrugged. "He wouldn't have been an issue."

"Death is not always the answer, Syn." He sighed. I rolled my eyes, running a hand through my hair and staring at the stack of papers. "You're usually the one forcing me to work, and now you're slacking off. What's going on? Tell me how you're feeling." He tossed his pen to the table, sitting back in the chair.

I looked at him deadpanned and he snickered, making me roll my eyes at his dark humor. "I kissed Queen." His laugh ceased, and his brows raised as his mouth opened to speak. "Yes, it was at the church."

"Shit..." he drawled out. "Is that what has you so distracted?"

"Not necessarily," I said. "I just wonder about the guy she's with. He seems sketchy."

"Probably because you're jealous. Queen seems to like him and I can't imagine why she'd marry him if she wasn't happy. She's from Heaven, and she's marrying a pastor. That seems...like a match made in Heaven."

"This is why I don't speak to you." I stood up, ignoring him as he burst into laughter. "You finish the paperwork on your own. I have shit to do."

He called after me as I left the room, but I pushed through the double doors and walked into the halls. I turned a corner and instant regret hit me as Mia spotted me. "Syn!" She yelled, scurrying towards me. She wrapped her arms around me as I neared her and I rolled my eyes, removing her hold on me.

"Let go."

"I've missed you so much! Why haven't you called me?" She whined, jutting out her bottom lip and looking up at me.

"Mia, I don't have time for this. Go away." I stepped around her and she followed close behind me, ranting about some nonsense. I continued walking straight ahead, hoping that she'd get tired and leave, but I underestimated her perseverance.

I arrived at the foyer, Mia still close behind me and I heard a familiar laugh in the distance, making me quicken my steps. "Why are we going so fast?" Mia whined. I didn't reply, continuing to walk, and when I rounded the corner, I stopped walking.

Through the large balcony door of the living room, I could see Queen and Felix sitting outside at a table, eating breakfast. Queen was laughing harder than I had seen her laugh in days and Felix was grinning from ear to ear. How did he manage to do that?

"Oh my gosh, what a slut." Mia scoffed, crossing her arms.

"Queen?"

"Yes, she's about to get married and look at her. Trying to take her sister's-" She covered her mouth, looking at me wide-eyed.

"I already know."

"Oh," she said. "Then you understand. Xyla told me she was a hoe, and I thought she was overreacting but wow. I almost thought she was going to take you from me, but thankfully that was cleared up."

"What are you talking about?" I turned to her, making a slow smile spread across her lips.

"I thought you liked her," she whispered, toying with her hair. "Or maybe she liked you...I don't know. I ranted to Xyla about it and she assured me that Queen wouldn't disobey her parents like that. It's nice to know that whores still have boundaries."

Anger flared within me at the continuous disparaging words she used to describe Queen, but I held it in. As much as I didn't like it, I didn't need to blow up on Mia and make her shut down on me. "Why would me liking her be disobeying her parents?"

"Well, they set up the whole marriage with Justin." Mia shrugged. Suddenly, everything began to click into place. Her detachment from the man, the age difference, her nervousness...

It all made sense.

"Wake up," a deep voice sounded. I smiled against my pillow, clenching my thighs together and reaching for Felix. Waking up with him every morning was one of the highlights of my days. When I felt the cold emptiness of his side of the bed, my eyes fluttered open, finding it empty.

"Felix?" I called as I propped myself on my elbow, rubbing my eyes.

"Wrong." My head snapped to my other side to see Syn sitting in the chair beside my bed and I screamed, pulling my bedsheet over my naked body. "Relax, you have nothing I'm interested in seeing."

A sting of pain coursed through my body and I frowned, sitting up. "What are you doing in here? Where is Felix?" I panicked. "Did you kill him?!"

"Felix will be fine so long as you cooperate with me." He tapped the armrest of the chair, a chilling tune emanating from the action and I lifted the blankets higher.

"What do you want from me?"

"I'd like to know about the arrangement your parents have with Justine Cline in regards to your sister."

"Who told you-"

"If you want your boyfriend to live, I suggest you leave the questions to me Xyla." Fear crawled it's way into me as his eyes connected with mine. His threat was already loud enough without him looking at me the way he was, but this amplified my fear...along with something else. Something else that made me bite my lip and press my thighs together...

My cheeks heated as guilt began to come into the mix and I shook my head, making a mental note to ask God for forgiveness for my demonic desires. "Erm- what do you want to know?"

"Calm down, Xyla."

"What?"

"Your heart," he spoke. "It's racing and it's quite annoying to listen to, so calm down."

"H-how can I calm down..." When you're so close, I swallowed, "when you're threatening my boyfriend."

"Tell me about the arrangement."

"Umm." I adjusted my hair. "A couple of years ago, Eden fell into a financial crisis. Justin gave us money, and exchange my father let him take Queen as...I'm not sure about those details. I was just told they were to marry someday."

"And Queen agreed to it?"

"I don't know." I shrugged. "Probably not. He's kind of strange...bless his soul."

"What makes you say that?"

"It's a long story." I sighed. "Why is this relevant?"

"I have time. Go on."

"He's just a weirdo, okay?" I said, waving my hand up.

"What has he done?"

"To me?" I questioned, ready to list off every interaction I had with the man. "He gave me a bikini as a gift for my eighteenth birthday. It wasn't even brand named. Like-"

"To Queen," he mumbled, making me frown and look down at my blanket.

"Well, I'm not sure," I admitted. "There have been some questionable things that have happened, but Queen doesn't speak to me anymore about him."

"Why not?"

"Well, a couple of years ago she spent a weekend with him, and when she got home she was telling me and my father all of these lies. We knew she wanted to get out of the marriage, but we didn't think she'd go that far-"

"What did she say?"

I blew out a bored breath and squinted my eyes at the wall, trying to recall the night in question. "That he did stuff to her."

"Stuff?"

"Rape, Syn. She said he raped her," I finally said, cringing at the word. "He may be weird at times, but Justin is a good man, he's involved in the church. Queen likes to avoid responsibility by all means necessary. I wouldn't think too much of it."

"Your father didn't look into it? Neither of you asked him questions?"

"Nope, after that night my father put an end to the accusations and Queen has never mentioned it again." I glanced at Syn to see a faraway expression on his unreadable face, and I raised a brow. "You don't actually believe her, do you?"

"Would there happen to be a way for me to get in contact with Justin?" He asked. "I'd just like to speak to him...personally."

"Why?"

"What did I say about questions?"

I pouted, crossing my arms. "I don't have his number."

"Do you know where he lives?"

"Umm, I've only been there a couple of times. Queen probably knows."

"I'd like to keep your sister out of this," he said. "Does he live in Jeradua?"

"Yes," I said in a cautious tone, wondering where his mysterious mind was headed.

"If I were to drive could you give me directions?"

"It would take us hours to get there." I scoffed.

"Then get ready immediately and meet me downstairs in twenty minutes. Pack a bag and do not be late," He ordered, standing up from the chair and striding out of the room.

I wondered what would happen if I went back to sleep. How would he punish me? I thought about it for a few seconds before I decided that I didn't want to find out.

I took a quick shower and packed a small bag and met Syn downstairs. Everyone was in the living room talking, but my steps halted as I saw Queen and Felix walking inside together. So this was why he wasn't there when I woke up...

Here I was thinking that I was protecting him from Syn.

My jaw clenched at the thought of them spending time with one another, and Syn put his hand at the small of my back, sending butterflies straight down my spine that made me temporarily forget about my anger.

"We are leaving for the day," he said to them.

Genesis looked at us in confusion and her eyes moved to my packed bag. "Where are you guys going?"

"On a trip," he muttered, turning to me. "Meet me at my car in two minutes."

He left me standing in front of everyone and I felt their eyes on me, probably wondering why I was with him so willingly. I looked to my left and saw Mia glaring at me and I shot her an apologetic smile.

"Where are you and Syn going?" Felix asked. He gripped the drink in his hand and I smiled to myself knowing that he was angry.

"I don't know. It is a surprise," I lied.

"Be careful," He muttered, walking out of the living room. My eyes drifted back to Queen who was staring down into her coffee cup and I sighed. If she tried to do anything with Felix, I'd kill her. "See you all later," I said. Nobody except for Queen said goodbye to me, and I headed out of the palace, a strange knot in my stomach following me as I walked towards Syn's car.

I opened the large door and shut it with a loud thud and Syn shook his head at me."You're late." I muttered a "sorry" and put on my seatbelt, remaining tense in the seat.

Before we were able to leave Xavier ran out of the palace and went to Syn's side of the car. Syn rolled his window down at his arrival, and I watched with wide eyes as Xavier passed Syn a gun. "Give him hell," Xavier said with a smirk. Syn nodded at him, pushing the car into gear and pulling out of the driveway.

I stared at the gun Syn set down on his lap and a tear rolled down my cheek as pressure built up in my throat. "Are we going to kill him?" I cried.

"Relax, we are not."

Thank God. I steadied my breathing at his words and relaxed into the seat. Maybe I had been assuming too much with him. He didn't even hurt Felix as I assumed he had. As I calmed down, I began to wonder whether or not to give him leeway instead of always jumping to the worst case scenario. Maybe he-

"I'm going to be the one to kill him."