Twisted Kingdom (Royal Elite 3)

The basement — or more specifically, the stairs that lead to the basement.

“This is it,” I murmur, fighting the trembling in my limbs.

“Whose fingerprint opens it?” Aiden asks.

“Mine, Dad’s, and Agnus.” I exhale. “Dad told me I can come here whenever I’m ready.”

“Who’s Agnus?”

“Dad’s right hand.”

“So that’s him.”

“You know him?” I ask.

“Jonathan mentioned him a time or two. Besides, you always talked about him back then.”

I raise a shaky finger and miss the screen. A red light blinks back at us.

Aiden cradles my hand in his and slowly places the pad on the fingerprint-recognising screen. It lights up in green.

Both of us take a deep breath as we start to step inside.

This is it.

We’re taking a trip into our past.

“Wait.” He holds up his hand. “Your phone.”

I blink. “Why?”

“Just give it to me.”

Frowning, I reach into my pocket and hand him my phone. Aiden brings out his own, powers off both devices and places them in front of the door.

“Why are you doing that?”

“No interruptions, remember?” He takes my hand in his again and we resume walking inside. An automatic light goes on in the stairs. This is new. There were no lights aside from my flashlight back then.

The metallic door clicks closed behind us.

I jump at the small sound, and Aiden strokes the back of my hand with his thumb.

To say I’m not scared would be a lie. I’m actually terrified.

Every step down the dark stony stairs is like those I took in my subconscious during my sessions with Dr Khan. What I find when I reach the bottom won’t be pretty.

Then Aiden’s touch registers, his warmth, his silent support. The fact he’s here with me fills me with a strange type of peace.

I can do this.

If I want to have a future with Aiden, I need to figure out the past first.

“Are you okay?” he asks.

“Kind of.” I breathe out. “Aren’t you scared?”

“I’m not scared, I’m cautious.”